More than half of all COVID-19 is spread by people without symptoms

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-01-08 03:00

International

More than half of all transmission of COVID-19 is from people without COVID-19 symptoms, according to US modelling. The modelling suggests that 59 per cent of all transmission came from people without symptoms comprising 35 per cent from people before they develop symptoms and 24 per cent from people who never develop symptoms. The authors say this shows that that the identification and isolation of persons with symptomatic COVID-19 alone will not control the ongoing spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Media release

From: JAMA

SARS-CoV-2 Transmission From People Without COVID-19 Symptoms

SARS-CoV-2 Transmission From People Without COVID-19 SymptomsAbout JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is the new online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication. What The Study Did: Under a range of assumptions of presymptomatic transmission and transmission from individuals with infection who never develop symptoms, the model presented here estimated that more than half of transmission comes from asymptomatic individuals.

Author: Jay C. Butler, M.D., of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, is the corresponding author.

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.35057) Editor’s Note: The article includes funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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conference: JAMA Network Open

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Organisation/s: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Funder: This work was performed as part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s coronavirus disease 2019 response and was supported solely by federal base and response funding.

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