The deadly novel coronavirus, officially called Covid-19, can travel asymptomatically, according to a case study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). A woman from Chinese city Wuhan showed no symptoms, but infected five of her relatives, with the deadly disease. This fact makes it even more difficult to prevent the disease from spreading.
Study on asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19
A case study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), on Friday, February 21, provided further insights on how the 'Covid-19' spreads. According to it, the disease can be spread by persons, who show no symptoms of the deadly disease. The study was published by Dr Meiyun Wang and his colleagues, at the People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University.
Case Study
A 20-year-old woman from Chinese city Wuhan, where the disease first originated and has served as its epicentre, travelled 650 km from Wuhan to Anyang (Henan province) on, January 10, to meet several of her relatives. When her relatives started falling sick, the doctors isolated her and tested her for the disease. Though she initially tested negative, follow-up tests established that the woman was in fact infected with Covid-19.
Though five of her relatives tested positive, the woman still showed no symptoms, as on February 11. She had no fever, cough, sore throat and her chest CT remained normal.
What does the study imply?
Scientists in the study said if the findings are replicated, "the prevention of Covid-19 infection could prove challenging". While patients with symptoms are easier to detect and isolate, patients without any symptoms make the detection process difficult. This further makes it difficult to prevent disease transmission.
As on Saturday, mainland China has reported over 76,000 cases of coronavirus infection, along with more than 2,300 fatalities. Majority of the cases have been reported in China's hard-hit Hubei province and its capital Wuhan. Despite the fact that the disease has spread to more than two dozen countries, in every part of the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) hasn't declared it a pandemic. On multiple occasions, the world health body has lauded China's efforts to curb the epidemic.
