Keywords
positive
carriers
close contacts
SARS-CoV2
COVID19
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction: Asymptomatic cases of COVID19 have been the main problem in controlling the pandemic in the whole world. Objectives: To determine the proportion of COVID19-positive patients in the asymptomatic population. Materials and methods: We studied 1,097 individuals without symptoms of SARS-CoV2 infection, 140 of whom reported having been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID19. For this study, RT-Real Time PCR was performed on nasopharyngeal swab samples. Results: The positivity rate in asymptomatic people was 3.10%: that in patients who did not report having been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID19 was 2.13%, whereas that in the group of close contacts was 10.23%. Conclusions: The positivity rates obtained reinforce the fact that, in our population, a large number of people are carriers of SARS-CoV2 without knowing their situation. This study provides concrete evidence that the health measures that have been applied since the arrival of SARS-CoV-2 in our country are very useful and strictly necessary to stop the increase in COVID-19 cases and prevent the collapse of the health system.
References
Balleto AA, Acosta GS, Piasterlini F, Barrios C, Carboni I, Aquino EM. Características clínicas de la enfermedad por SARS-CoV2 (COVID19) en pacientes de mediana edad. Medicina (Buenos Aires) 2020; 81: 401-407.
López AL, Torre MG, Paolini MV, Juri MC, Fernández DS. COVID-19 en adultos con inmunodeficiencias humorales. Medicina (Buenos Aires) 2021; 81: 478-481.
Lagrutta L, Sotelo CA, Estecho BR, Beorda WJ, Francos JL, Gonzalez P. La unidad febril de urgencias del Hospital Muñiz frente a COVID-19, HIV y tuberculosis. Medicina (Buenos Aires) 2021; 81: 143-148.
Yanes-Lane M, Winters N, Fregonese F, Bastos M, Perlman-Arrow S, Campbell JR, et al. Proportion of asymptomatic infection among COVID-19 positive persons and their transmission potential: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 15(11): e0241536.
Gandhi M, Yokoe DS, Havlir DV. Asymptomatic Transmission, the Achilles’ Heel of Current Strategies to Control Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382(22): 2158-60.
Chen Y, Wang AH, Yi B, Ding KQ, Wang HB, Wang JM, et al. The epidemiological characteristics of infection in close contacts of COVID-19 in Ningbo city. Chinese Journal of Epidemiology. 2020; 41: 668-72.
Corman VM, Landt O, Kaiser M, Molenkamp R, Meijer A, Chu DKW, et al. Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RTPCR. Euro Surveill. 2020; 25(3).
Day M. Covid-19: identifying and isolating asymptomatic people helped eliminate virus in Italian village. BMJ. 2020; 368: m1165.
Nishiura H, Kobayashi T, Suzuki A, et al. Estimation of the asymptomatic ratio of novel coronavirus infections (COVID-19). Int J Infect Dis. 2020; 94: 154-55.
Cloutier L, Merindol N, Pépin G, Marcoux-Huard C, Vasil PA, Houle C, et al. Asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 in a confined adult community population in Quebec: A cross-sectional study. American Journal of Infection Control. 2021; 49: 120-22.
Ralli M, Morrone A, Arcangeli A, Ercoli L. Asymptomatic patients as a source of transmission of COVID-19 in homeless shelters. Int J Infect Dis. 2021; 103: 243-45.
Rodríguez Moncalvo JJ, Brea Folco JC, Arce SC, Baldasaria RA, López O, Marcos MG, et al. Recomendaciones para el laboratorio de función pulmonar en la era COVID-19. MEDICINA (Buenos Aires) 2021; 81: 229-40.
Zhao H, Lu X, Deng Y, Tang Y, Lu J. COVID-19: asymptomatic carriers transmission is an underestimated problem. Epidemiology and Infection 148, e116, 1-3.
He J, Guo Y, Mao R, Zhang J. Proportion of asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Med Virol. 2021; 93: 820-30.
Johansson MA, Quandelacy TM, Kada T, Prasad PV, Steele M, Brooks JT, et al. SARS-CoV-2 Transmission From People Without COVID-19 Symptoms. JAMA Network Open. 2021; 4(1): e2035057.
Bender JK, Brandl M, Hohle M, Buchholz U, Zeitlmann N. Analysis of asymptomatic and presymptomatic transmission in SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, Germany, 2020; Emerg Infect Dis. 2021 Apr; 27(4): 1159-63.
Subramanian R, He Q, Pascual M. Quantifying asymptomatic infection and transmission of COVID-19 in New York City using observed cases, serology, and testing capacity. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2021; 118(9): e2019716118.
Park SY, Kim Y, Yi S, Lee S, Na B, Kim CB, et al. Coronavirus disease outbreak in call center, South Korea. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020; 26(8): 1666-70.
Chang M, Davancens A, Rourich MC, Vincenti JM, Valencia P, Guarriello MF, et al. Telemedicina en prevención secundaria y rehabilitación del accidente cerebrovascular durante la pandemia por COVID-19. Medicina (Buenos Aires) 2021; 81: 415-20.
He X, Lau EHY, Wu P, Deng X, Wang J, Hao X, et al. Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19. Nat Med. 2020; 26: 672-75