RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) reported yesterday at a press conference that transmission of the novel coronavirus among asymptomatic individuals, although possible, is “very rare.”
“From the data we have, it still seems rare for an asymptomatic individual to actually transmit the virus to another person,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the emerging diseases and zoonosis unit at the World Health Organization. “It’s very rare,” she said.
Preliminary studies on the novel virus pointed out that it could frequently spread even among infected people with no symptoms.
Van Kerkhove stressed that further research is still required to answer the question of whether or not the coronavirus actually spreads through asymptomatic groups of people.
“We’re receiving a number of reports from countries that are conducting a very detailed contact tracking,” she said. “They’re tracking asymptomatic cases. They’re tracking contacts. And they’re not finding a secondary transmission in progress. It’s very rare.”
The new W.H.O. position contravenes studies conducted by the US Center for the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, for instance. The agency recommends contact restriction also for asymptomatic individuals.
According to the W.H.O., countries should focus on testing the population and isolating infected individuals.
Source: Exame