Bhubaneswar: Asymptomatic patients suffering from COVID-19 are less likely to infect close contacts compared to severe cases, according to a new research study.
The study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, was conducted by researchers from Southern Medical University in China. “The risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to close contacts of infected persons has not been well estimated. We wanted to evaluate it in Guangzhou region,” a news agency quoted the researchers.
They tracked more than 3,410 close contacts of 391 COVID-19 index cases between January and March to evaluate the risk for the disease transmission in different settings. They found that risk for secondary transmission of the novel coronavirus was less than four per cent in such cases.
Besides, secondary infections acquired in public transportation were rare and one in 10 household contacts was found to be infected.
On the others hand, the researchers found that the patients with more severe disease were more likely to infect their close contacts. The manifestation of certain symptoms, such as expectoration, in index cases, was also associated with an increased risk for infection in their close contacts.
“In conclusion, we found that the secondary attack rate of COVID-19 was relatively low, and household contacts were at higher risk of infection. Moreover, patients with more severe cases or those with symptoms were more likely to infect their close contacts,” the team stated.
