Coronavirus research: Woman with

no symptoms infects five people

A research letter published this week describes the case of a woman in China
who spread COVID-19 to five people without displaying any symptoms.

Can asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers pass the virus on?

Although international efforts to curb the coronavirus outbreak are in full

swing, some view this recent finding as a cause for concern.

To date, the vast majority of cases have occurred in China, but the virus has
now spread to 29 other countries.

Scientists have demonstrated that the new virus, dubbed SARS-CoV-2, can be
passed from human to human. Studies have also shown that some people can be
infected by the virus but display few or no symptoms.

The recent paper, published in JAMA, is the first to describe an

asymptomatic carrier passing on the virus to others.

Wuhan to Anyang
The paper outlines the experiences of five individuals with respiratory
symptoms and fevers who were admitted to the Fifth People’s Hospital of
Anyang, in China, and one family member with no symptoms.

The asymptomatic individual is a 20-year-old woman who lives in Wuhan. She

traveled to see family in Anyang, more than 400 miles (645 kilometers) away.

After a few days, five of her relatives developed symptoms of SARS-CoV-2

infection, and she was isolated and placed under observation.

The woman from Wuhan experienced no respiratory or gastrointestinal

symptoms and no fever, cough, or sore throat. A CT scan showed no
abnormalities.

Following further tests, doctors found that her C-reactive protein levels were
normal, meaning that there was no inflammation. The woman’s lymphocyte
counts were also normal, indicating that there was no immune response.

However, real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction tests

confirmed that she had been infected with SARS-CoV-2.

All five of her family members — four women and one man — developed
COVID-19. None had visited Wuhan or had contact with anyone else who
had visited Wuhan.
What does this mean?
The researchers are confident that this case study describes an asymptomatic
carrier transmitting the infection to others, but because it is the first report, one
must be cautious when drawing conclusions.

Overall, the authors are concerned by the possibility, writing:

“If the findings in this report of presumed transmission by an asymptomatic

carrier are replicated, the prevention of COVID-19 infection would prove
challenging.”

A letter published in The New England Journal of Medicine on January 30

described a similar case. It reported that a woman from Shanghai, who
experienced no symptoms, had passed the infection to a German man.

The authors of the letter write that “The fact that asymptomatic persons are
potential sources of [SARS-CoV-2] infection may warrant a reassessment of
transmission dynamics of the current outbreak.”

However, it transpired that the woman had, in fact, experienced mild

symptoms, including muscle pain and fatigue. The authors had not managed to
speak directly with the woman before the material was released.

Information about this outbreak is being published thick and fast; during an
epidemic, everyone is focused on getting data into the public domain.

In an interview with Science, Prof. Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at the

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston, MA, explains how
these situations can change the ways that scientific evidence is compiled and
released:

“I think peer review is lighter in the middle of an epidemic than it is at

normal speed, and also the quality of the data going into the papers is
necessarily more uncertain.”

Overall, the current case study is compelling, but further research is needed.

It is also worth noting that asymptomatic carriers do not sneeze and cough,
which are some of the main ways that the virus spreads. Because of this, it is
unclear how much of a role these individuals might play in the transmission of
SARS-CoV-2.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/coronavirus-research-woman-with-no-
symptoms-infects-five-people
Activity K.

Choose the best answer to the questions based on the news article 3
above.

1. What does the word curb in line 4 mean?

a. control
b. lead
c. furnish
d. lose

2. What does the word demonstrated in line 8 mean?

a. cooperated
b. shown clearly
c. proven
d. made

3. What does the word traveled in line 18 mean?

a. covered
b. followed
c. moved rapidly
d. took a trip

4. What does the word no abnormalities in line 22 mean?

a. normalities
b. phenomena
c. opinions
d. paradigms

5. What does the word inflammation in line 24 mean?

a. sickness
b. ache
c. response to injury
d. bad condition

6. What does the word cautious in line 34 mean?

a. careful
b. conservative
c. safe
d. guarded

7. What does the word outbreak in line 48 mean?

a. insurrection
b. rebellion
c. dillema
d. sudden rise in disease
8. What does the word compelling in line 56 mean?
a. advanced
b. convincing
c. demanding
d. awful

9. What does the word unclear in line 58 mean?

a. obscure
b. final
c. understandable
d. noticeable

10. What does the word play in line 59 mean?

a. attempt
b. conduct a game
c. drama
d. contribute