A case describing patients with COVID-19 that secondarily transmitted.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The recent emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major global health threat. Monitoring viral transmission and disease characteristics as the disease spreads globally is vital. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and source of infection in patients with secondary transmission of COVID-19 outside the outbreak area. METHODS: The epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological, and treatment data of five patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who were treated in the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University (Ningxia, China) from 1 January 2020 to 1 March 2020 were presented. The final follow-up evaluation was performed on 12 March 2020. RESULTS: The five participants included two couples and a young woman, none of whom had visited Hubei. It was likely that four of the participants had been infected by exposure to asymptomatic visitors from Wuhan. The other participant lived in a densely-populated community with potential COVID-19 cases. A variety of symptoms were presented by four participants, including cough, fevers, sputum, breathlessness, chest pain, fatigue, sore limbs, sore throats, headaches, and rhinorrhea. A severe infection, with dyspnea and decreased oxygen saturation, was experienced by one participant who had a history of chronic bronchitis. A single participant was asymptomatic, but had ground-glass opacities (GGOs) on chest imaging. Another two participants also displayed GGOs. Lymphopenia was noted in three participants. During the follow-up period, all participants were cured and discharged to their homes. CONCLUSIONS: This study included patients who had acquired infections of COVID-19 through local transmission. These findings will provide a better understanding of secondary transmission of COVID-19.