If you have scrolled through your social media home page in March 2020 then you can probably tell the world is a sea swirling and crashing with countless emotions. The coronavirus seems to have brought out a new fear, anxiety, anger, or at least, perspective among everyone.
No doubt, numerous things beyond coronavirus are contributing to the tension and concern people are feeling everywhere. But one lingering question about the disease – ‘Can people without symptoms spread the virus?’ – is haunting the public. For many, not knowing who is spreading coronavirus and how the illness spreads is heightening worries. (1)
Coronavirus Transmission: Under Investigation
Most experts agree that coronavirus is an illness that spreads based on contact with respiratory droplets between two or more people. Yet, the timing and peak level of viral load in these droplets in unknown.
Initial newscasts in the United States reassured viewers that the emerging infectious disease was rarely spread between asymptomatic patients. For instance, on March 1, 2020, ABC news saw US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar tell host George Stephanopoulos that asymptomatic spread is “not the major driver” during virus transmission. This was a piece of good news, as it would then be considered obvious when a person was infected with coronavirus (exhibiting cough, congestion, fever, shortness of breath). (1)
However, new research and public discussion are creating more doubt as to when and who can be spreading the infection. The role of asymptomatic patients in the spread of coronavirus may be bigger than we once thought.
New Research – But More Questions?
One study, released by the New England Journal of Medicine, discusses two asymptomatic patients who tested positive for coronavirus. By screening all members of a flight of evacuated German Nationals (126 total travelers) on February 1, 2020, researchers were specifically attempting to locate patients without signs or symptoms of the virus. The flight, which traveled from Hubei Province, China to Frankfurt, Germany, had two asymptomatic people test positive for the disease. Neither of these travelers displayed a cough, fever, shortness of breath, or malaise when landing in Germany. These two positive and symptomatic patients were then monitored for symptom development. After fourteen days, the two had only experienced a slight rash and sore throat (not severe symptoms at all).
Researchers involved with this study concluded that symptom-based screening was not enough to track and detect coronavirus. Those without symptoms can then spread the illness via viral shedding in the throat and spreading of respiratory droplets. (2)
Asymptomatic Transmission
More research is needed to locate and understand the full extent of asymptomatic transmission with coronavirus. But several clues point out this number may be higher than first thought. “We now know that asymptomatic transmission likely [plays] an important role in spreading this virus,” said Michael Osterholm, a director at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. (1)
Those who are asymptomatic or have subclinical symptoms (may feel their symptoms are too mild to report) create a unique danger in the transmission of coronavirus. Approximately every person with coronavirus spreads the disease to two to three other people. But when asymptomatic, this rate may increase exponentially, as people feel they are not a threat and don’t need to take additional precautions. As such, it continues to be important for EVERYONE to follow their local, state, and national pandemic plans. Stay inside, create distance, and wash your hands! (1, 3)
