An outbreak of an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has developed into a pandemic that has affected many countries around the world. The main symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough and fatigue, while more rare include joint and muscle pain, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste or smell, etc.
As it turned out, in 80% of infected individuals, the disease is very mild or generally asymptomatic.
How to understand that a coronavirus infection is asymptomatic, AiF.ru told scientist-virologist, chief researcher of the N.F. Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Felix Ershov.
“An asymptomatic course simply means that the encounter with the virus is asymptomatic. The person has become infected, but the infection does not manifest itself in anything. There are no symptoms. Such people, in fact, are healthy, because their immune system copes easily with infection. The virus enters the body but does not cause disease. Although theoretically, such people pose a danger to others, because they can spread the infection, being completely healthy. This is a very serious problem. There is still a debate about whether there really is an asymptomatic “crown” or not? This is fundamentally important, since all quarantine measures that are taken by states in the absence of asymptomatic carriage simply lose their meaning. The question remains open to this day, ”says Ershov.
How to check for asymptomatic carriage?
Only testing helps to check the likelihood of carriage of COVID-19, because if a person has good immunity, he is able to successfully resist the development of coronavirus infection, preventing the occurrence of severe, life-threatening complications. Strong innate immunity helps to successfully fight the causative agent of the disease, even if the person has not encountered it before. The asymptomatic course of the coronavirus can occur after contact with an infected person. According to the virologist, infection is possible if someone around him is sick with COVID-19, in which case the likelihood of infection increases.
Why don’t asymptomatic people get sick?
In asymptomatic carriers, immunity works well. “T cells and interferons deal with this virus very effectively, and the disease does not develop. The main problem here is to understand the role of the asymptomatic to others. On the one hand, they are dangerous if they can spread the virus, and on the other hand, they do the work of natural (natural) vaccines, as they contribute to the emergence of herd immunity of the population. As a result of the spread of the coronavirus, collective immunization occurs. There is a theory that when 70-80% of the population is ill, the epidemic will end. Today, the main discussion is about how stable antibodies are in those who have had a mild illness, in those who have been seriously ill, and in those who are asymptomatic, ”says Ershov.
How is the presence of coronavirus confirmed in people who carry it asymptomatically?
According to the virologist, laboratory tests can diagnose the disease in people who are asymptomatic with COVID-19. With the help of PCR diagnostics, the virus is detected after taking a swab from the nasopharynx or pharynx. There is also a test that detects the presence of antibodies present in the blood. The test detects the body’s immune response to an infection caused by a virus, but not the virus itself. In the early days of infection, when the body’s immune response is still developing, antibodies may be missing.
How many people are asymptomatic with coronavirus?
“Now it is very difficult to find out the real percentage of people who are asymptomatic or who already have immunity, it can even be said almost impossible. One thing is clear – the end of the spread of the virus will begin as soon as the vaccine starts to work and collective immunization takes place, ”Ershov said.
What should be the reasonable attitude towards COVID-19?
“Covid should be treated like a normal respiratory viral infection. If you examine everyone without exception, it turns out that most people with this infection meet, but do not react with the disease, because it is asymptomatic. It is necessary to proceed from this postulate – the disease develops in people with weakened immune systems and interferon. This occurs mainly in the elderly and old people who have serious concomitant somatic diseases. It is they who are especially hard to tolerate COVID-19. This is generally typical for many viral diseases, such as hepatitis, herpes, HIV infection, etc. Here viruses play the role of “a match in a fire that has arisen,” says Ershov.
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