I have been infected with a coronavirus. Are there any symptoms? Physicians Answer 5 Questions About Asymptomatic COVID-19 – Raw Story

Blood tests to check for exposure to coronavirus are beginning to come online, and preliminary findings suggest that many people are unknowingly infected. Even people who eventually experience the common symptoms of COVID-19 will have a fever and coughing at the moment of infection.

William Petri is a Professor of Medicine and Microbiology At the University of Virginia specializing in infectious diseases. Here, he outlines what is known about what asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 and what is not.

Is it common for people to contract and fight the virus without knowing it?

Asymptomatic infections are common. Probably the most infamous example Typhoid mary, In the early 1900s, he spread typhoid fever to others without asking himself.

My colleague and I have found that many infectious diseases are repelled by the body without human knowledge. For example, when children are carefully tracked for infection by a parasite Cryptosporidium, One of the main causes of diarrhea, Almost half of the infected had no symptoms.

In case of influenza the estimate is From 5% to 25% of infections It occurs without symptoms.

In most cases, the symptoms are actually the side effects of fighting off the infection. Some cases are considered more appropriately, as the immune system takes some time to restore its defenses Pre-symptomatic Rather than asymptomatic.

How can I spread the coronavirus if I am not coughing or sneezing?

Everyone is wary Water droplets From coughing and sneezing in patients with coronavirus. These are the main reasons public health authorities recommend that everyone wear a mask.

But the virus also spreads Normal exhalation It can carry small drops of water containing viruses. Regular breathing can spread the virus a few feet or more.

Spreads can also arise from phomites – Surfaces that are contaminated with coronavirus due to contact with infected persons, such as doorknobs and grocery cart handles.

What do you know about how contagious a person asymptomatic is?

Whatever you have been infected with COVID-19, 14-day incubation period. Even if you feel good, you run the risk of infecting others with the coronavirus.

Most recently, high levels of virus have been shown to be present in respiratory secretions A “pre-onset” period that lasts from a few days to over a week Before the fever and cough that are characteristic of COVID-19. This ability of the virus to contract asymptomatically is the main reason for a pandemic.

Does someone still have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in their blood after asymptomatic infection?

Most people develop antibodies after recovery from COVID-19. From what scientists know about other coronaviruses, it is a reasonable assumption that those antibodies provide some protection from reinfection. But nothing is certain yet.

A recent serological survey in New York City that checks people’s blood for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 1 in 5 residents You may have been infected with COVID-19 before. Their immune system was fighting the coronavirus, whether infected or not. And it seems that many people are not infected.

How Widespread is Asymptomatic COVID-19 Infection?

No one knows for sure, and so far much of the evidence is anecdotal.

As a small example, Consider Washington Nursing Homes A place where many residents were infected. 23 was positive. Ten of them were already ill. 10 more symptoms occurred. However, three people who test positive have never had this disease.

When doctors tested 397 people in a homeless shelter in Boston, 36% responded positively to COVID-19 – And no one complained of symptoms.

For Japanese who evacuated from Wuhan, China and tested COVID-19, 30% of infected people were asymptomatic.

In an Italian unprinted preprint survey, 43% of those who were positive for COVID-19 There were no symptoms. Concerns: Researchers The amount of virus found in the test With a personal sample.

Antibody serum test in progress another Parts of Country We add further evidence that a significant number of infected individuals (probably around 10-40%) may not experience symptoms.

Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections appear to be common, but efforts to control pandemics continue to be complicated.

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William Petri, Medical professor, University of Virginia

This article has been reissued from conversation Under Creative Commons license. Read Original work.