The simple solution to this conundrum is longitudinal testing-that is, repeated observations of the individual over time. In contrast, the presymptomatic individual is similarly infected but eventually will develop symptoms. To be clear, the asymptomatic individual is infected with SARS-CoV-2 but will never develop symptoms of COVID-19. The difficulty of distinguishing asymptomatic persons from those who are merely presymptomatic is a stumbling block. When viewed as a collection, though-as a kind of mosaic or patchwork-these data may offer potentially valuable insights into SARS-CoV-2 incidence and the highly variable effect of infection. We have not attempted to pool them for the purposes of statistical analysis. They do not generally purport to depict anything more than certain circumscribed cohorts at specific moments in time. Most data from the 16 cohorts in this narrative review are not the output of large, carefully designed studies with randomly selected, representative samples. We sought to review and synthesize the available evidence on testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection, carried out by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction using nasopharyngeal swabs in all studies that specified the method of testing. The prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, has remained uncertain. In some cases ( 4, 5), the viral load of such asymptomatic persons has been equal to that of symptomatic persons, suggesting similar potential for viral transmission. Since February 2020 ( 2, 3), there have been reports of persons who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 but did not develop symptoms of COVID-19. But it is not the only face, because SARS-CoV-2 now seems to have a dual nature: tragically lethal in some persons and surprisingly benign in others. This is the deadly face of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which as of had claimed more than 348 000 lives worldwide ( 1).
In the early months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an iconic image has been the “proned” patient in intensive care, gasping for breath, in imminent need of artificial ventilation. The focus of testing programs for SARS-CoV-2 should be substantially broadened to include persons who do not have symptoms of COVID-19. More research is needed to determine the significance of subclinical lung changes visible on computed tomography scans. The absence of COVID-19 symptoms in persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 might not necessarily imply an absence of harm. The likelihood that approximately 40% to 45% of those infected with SARS-CoV-2 will remain asymptomatic suggests that the virus might have greater potential than previously estimated to spread silently and deeply through human populations.Īsymptomatic persons can transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others for an extended period, perhaps longer than 14 days. To supplement conventional diagnostic testing, which is constrained by capacity, cost, and its one-off nature, innovative tactics for public health surveillance, such as crowdsourcing digital wearable data and monitoring sewage sludge, might be helpful. Because of the high risk for silent spread by asymptomatic persons, it is imperative that testing programs include those without symptoms. Asymptomatic infection may be associated with subclinical lung abnormalities, as detected by computed tomography. Asymptomatic persons seem to account for approximately 40% to 45% of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and they can transmit the virus to others for an extended period, perhaps longer than 14 days. The authors sought to review and synthesize the available evidence on asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. It has been suspected that infected persons who remain asymptomatic play a significant role in the ongoing pandemic, but their relative number and effect have been uncertain. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly throughout the world since the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were observed in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.
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