It appears that a Massachusetts coronavirus cluster with at least 82 cases was started by people who were not yet showing symptoms, and more than half a dozen studies have shown that people without symptoms are causing substantial amounts of infection
New studies in several countries and a large coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts bring into question reassuring assertions by US officials about the way the novel virus spreads.
These officials have emphasized that the virus is spread mainly by people who are already showing symptoms, such as fever, cough or difficulty breathing. If that's true, it's good news, since people who are obviously ill can be identified and isolated, making it easier to control an outbreak.
But during a press briefing at the White House on Saturday, the administration's coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, seemed to strike a somewhat different note on asymptomatic transmission.She said they're trying to understand people under the age of 20 who don't have"significant symptoms" --"Are they a group that are potentially asymptomatic and spreading the virus?" she asked.
CDC officials have said that while it's clear asymptomatic spread does happen, it does not appear to be the driver of the outbreak -- or as the CDC says on its website, asymptomatic transmission"is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads." "If I were writing that CDC webpage today, I would phrase that a little more towards transmission before symptoms show up," Colijn said. Ciesek, the German virologist, agrees that the CDC should tweak its statement.
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