Local residents and visitors shop on Piccode Street in Windsor, United Kingdom on 27 August 2020.
Mark Carrison | In pictures | Getty Images
While so-called “silent spreaders” of coronavirus may be more common than previously thought, a UK study found that two-thirds of those who tested positive for the virus were asymptomatic on the day they were tested.
Researchers at University College London studied data collected by the UK’s statistical institute, BodyFace for National Statistics, which regularly collects coronavirus test data from thousands of British homes during epidemics as part of its “infection survey”. The survey tests whether the home has features.
The study, whose peer reviewed, looked at 36,061 individuals who took the coronavirus test between April 26 and June 27, 2020, as part of a survey of infections. It was found that 86.1% of people tested positive for the virus did not report a “core” of symptoms associated with the virus (cough, fever or loss of taste and / or odor) on the day they were tested. Of the 115 people who received a positive coronavirus result, only 16 reported major symptoms that we were associated with the virus.
In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology on Thursday, researchers Irene Peterson and Andrew Phillips concluded that “covid-19 symptoms are weak markers of SARS-CV-2 (new coronavirus).”
Researchers have noted that in order to reduce the spread of SARS-COV-2, it is important to identify infected people. However, little is known about the proportion of infected people asymptomatic and potentially “silent” transmitters, ”the researchers noted.
They argued that a more comprehensive testing program was needed to capture “silent” transmissions and potentially prevent and mitigate future outbreaks.
Test rulers in Europe have had mixed success. While Germany has been praised for its comprehensive testing program and for incorporating the fury of the track and trace system, the UK took some time to move forward with comprehensive testing, and is under pressure due to the rapid increase in demand for tests and delays in processing.
The launch of the UK’s Track and Trace app was also delayed and the government came under fire recently when it came out that it had lost thousands of positive cases due to data error.
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