The incidence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic patients: A systematic review.
Int J Infect Dis
; 98: 372-380, 2020 Sep.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-625383
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The recent outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has quickly spread globally since its discovery in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. A comprehensive strategy - including surveillance, diagnostics, research, and clinical treatment - is urgently needed to win the battle against COVID-19. Recently, numerous studies have reported the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic patients. Yet, the incidence and viral transmission from the asymptomatic cases are not yet apparent.AIM:
To estimate the incidence of COVID-19 among asymptomatic cases and describe its epidemiological and clinical significance this review systematically examined the published literature on SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic patients.METHODS:
The literature was searched through four scientific databases PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Science Direct.RESULTS:
Sixty-three studies satisfied the inclusion criteria. The majority of the reported studies were from China. However, there was a lack of SARS-CoV-2 epidemiological studies, from several countries worldwide, tracing the actual incidence of COVID-19, especially in asymptomatic patients. Studies with a large sample size (>1000) estimated that the percentage of people contracting SARS-CoV-2 and likely to be asymptomatic ranged from 1.2-12.9%. However, other studies with a smaller sample size reported a much higher incidence and indicated that up to 87.9% of COVID-19 infected individuals could be asymptomatic. Most of these studies indicated that asymptopatics are a potential source of infection to the community.CONCLUSION:
This review highlighted the need for more robust and well-designed studies to better estimate COVID-19 incidence among asymptomatic patients worldwide. Early identification of asymptomatic cases, as well as monitoring and tracing close contacts, could help in mitigating the spread of COVID-19.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Asymptomatic Infections
/
Betacoronavirus
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Reviews
/
Systematic review/Meta Analysis
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Infect Dis
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.ijid.2020.06.098
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