Asymptomatic Coronavirus Patients Rarely Spread Infection, says WHO Officials

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s recent media briefing presents contrary to what it said at the beginning of the pandemic. On Monday, the health officials at the WHO addressed the situation about asymptomatic coronavirus patients. They said that the coronavirus patients who do not show any symptoms rarely spread the virus.

The researchers showed their concern previously that the coronavirus can spread vastly due to asymptomatic patients. The infection in young people generally does not show any symptoms. Also, people without any underlying health conditions do not develop severe conditions. Some people do not develop symptoms after a few days of contracting the virus.

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The initial evidence collected at the beginning of the outbreak showed that the virus is transmitted through contact between people. Even asymptomatic coronavirus patients spread the virus in the same manner. Recently, the WHO officials claimed that the people without Covid-19 symptoms can spread the infection but not as effective.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove is the head of WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit. She addressed the situation during a news briefing at the United Nations agency’s Geneva headquarters. Dr. Maria said the current data suggests an asymptomatic coronavirus patient rarely transmits the virus to a second individual.

Van Kerkhove said that the government should take necessary measures to isolate the infected individuals who show symptoms of infection. The authorities should also track the contacts of those infected with the virus. Although the spread is rare, she acknowledged the fact that some studies suggest the asymptomatic spread of coronavirus.

She also said that more research is required to conclude if asymptomatic patients spread the virus as effectively. Currently, the data suggests that the carriers of the virus who do not show any symptoms are less likely to transmit the coronavirus.

She also said that the organization gathered reports from various countries who efficiently tracked the contacts of infected individuals. She added that the authorities are following cases of asymptomatic coronavirus infection. When they track their contacts, they do not find the transmission to a second individual.

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The authorities can form an effective policy against the coronavirus if the asymptomatic infections prove not to be a contributing factor. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report on April 1. The report discusses the possibility of pre-symptomatic spread of infection. The purpose of publishing this report was to highlight the importance of maintaining social distancing among people.

The study published by the CDC mentions the findings of this research. It suggests that asymptomatic patients also require to limit their contacts along with symptomatic coronavirus patients.

Van Kerkhove said that symptomatic patients and the patients with asymptomatic patients spread the infection but it happens rarely. The findings of this research show how to diagnose the infection and limit the spread of coronavirus.

She also said that the WHO wants to stay focused on detecting the patients with symptoms of coronavirus. She said that we can decrease the magnitude of the outbreak by isolating the asymptomatic coronavirus patients. We also need to follow the contacts of those cases and quarantine them to ensure minimizing the spread of the virus.