Silent spread ‘very rare:’ WHO
May make coronavirus easier to contain
Coronavirus patients not showing symptoms are not the driving force behind the virus’ spread, the World Health Organization said.
While asymptomatic spread of COVID-19 can occur, it is “very rare,” the WHO said.
“From the data we have, it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said Monday in
Geneva.
The news casts doubts on concerns by some researchers that the disease could be difficult to contain due to asymptomatic infections.
Van Kerkhove added that governments should respond by focusing on detecting and isolating infected people with symptoms and tracking anyone who might have come into contact with them.
She acknowledged that some studies have indicated asymptomatic or presymptomatic spread in nursing homes and in household settings.
“We have a number of reports from countries who are doing very detailed contact tracing,” Van Kerkhove said.
“They’re following asymptomatic cases. They’re following contacts. And they’re not finding secondary transmission onward.
“It’s very rare.” If asymptomatic spread proves to not be a main driver, the policy implications could be huge.
A report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published on April 1 cited the “potential for presymptomatic transmission” as a reason for the importance of physical distancing.