Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the patient covid-19 potentially infect about half of their household members. They also said that adults spread the virus more than children.
This paper attempts to measure rates of disease transmission in households, with previous studies varying widely but generally showing that adults are a greater contributor to the disease than children.
New research by the CDC involves finding “index” cases or initial patients with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infections in Nashville, Tennessee, and Marshfield, Wisconsin, starting April 2020.
Quoting AFP, the research was conducted via a remote method. Family members were trained to keep a symptom diary and obtain self-collected specimens – ie nasal or nose swabs and saliva – for 14 days.
A total of 191 household members enrolled out of 101 index patients reported no symptoms on the index patient’s initial day of illness (the first person in the household to develop symptoms).
Furthermore, 102 of the 191 contacts tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, for a “secondary infection rate” of 53 percent. The secondary infection rate when the index patient was over 18 was 57 percent, which fell to 43 percent when the index patient was under 18.
Overall, the number of children on index patients was much less than that of adults: 20 compared to 82, which makes it more difficult to generalize the results for under 18 years.
“In an ongoing prospective study that includes daily and systematic follow-up, transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among household members is common, and rates of secondary infection are higher than previously reported,” write the investigators in the paper.
“Substantial transmission occurs whether the index patient is an adult or a child,” they added.
Another important finding of the study was that less than half of household members with confirmed infection reported symptoms at the time of infection first detected, and many reported no symptoms during the seven days of follow-up.
This underscores the transmission potential for asymptomatic secondary contact.
Other studies conducted overseas have sometimes found the rate of household infections to be lower.
The CDC says this may be because the study was not followed up or because these patients were isolated in a facility outside their home or used stricter masks.
It is recommended that people who think they may have Covid-19 should isolate themselves from other people in their home, including sleeping separately and using a separate bathroom if possible, and wear a mask.
(chs)
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