Correction 20 November 2020
Correction23 November 2020

What the data say about asymptomatic COVID infections

People without symptoms can pass on the virus, but estimating their contribution to outbreaks is challenging.

Bianca Nogrady

Bianca Nogrady
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How many people don’t experience any symptoms after becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2? And what is their role in spreading COVID-19? These have been key questions since the beginning of the pandemic.

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Nature587, 534-535 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03141-3

Updates & Corrections

Correction 20 November 2020: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that studies analyzed in the Cevik, M.et al meta-analysis had measured viral particles in the blood. Particle numbers were measured in throat swabs.
Correction 23 November 2020: This article has been updated with the correct affiliation for Krutika Kuppalli.

References

Byambasuren, O.et al.J. Assoc. Med. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. Can. https://doi.org/10.3138/jammi-2020-0030 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
Bi, Q.et al. Preprint at medRxivhttps://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.04.20225573 (2020).
Cevik, M.et al. Preprint at SSRN https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3677918 (2020).

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