Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
A new South Korean study found more evidence that people without COVID-19 symptoms can carry as much of the virus as those who have symptoms (Source: “Even Asymptomatic People Carry the Coronavirus in High Amounts,” New York Times, August 6).
Of all the qualities of coronavirus, perhaps the most surprising has been that seemingly healthy people can spread it to others. This trait has made the virus difficult to contain and continues to challenge efforts to identify and isolate infected people.
Discussions about asymptomatic spread have been dogged by confusion about people who are “pre-symptomatic” — meaning they eventually become visibly ill — versus the truly asymptomatic, who appear healthy throughout the course of their infection.
The new study, published August 6, in JAMA Internal Medicine, offers more definitive proof that people without symptoms carry just as much virus in their nose, throat, and lungs as those with symptoms, and for almost as long. The study’s estimate that 30% of infected people never develop symptoms is in line with findings from other studies. In a recent television interview, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimated 40% of COVID-19 cases were asymptomatic.