“Many individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection remained asymptomatic for a prolonged period, and viral load was similar to that in symptomatic patients. Therefore, isolation of infected persons should be performed regardless of symptoms.”
original paper: Clinical Course and Molecular Viral Shedding Among Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Community Treatment Center in the Republic of Korea
JAMA Intern Med. August 6, 2020.
Seungjae Lee, MD, et al. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2769235
Age-Related Differences in Nasopharyngeal Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Levels in Patients With Mild to Moderate Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
JAMA Pediatr. Published online July 30, 2020.
Taylor Heald-Sargent, MD https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2768952
children younger than 5 years with mild to moderate COVID-19 have high amounts of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in their nasopharynx compared with older children and adults. Our study is limited to detection of viral nucleic acid, rather than infectious virus, although SARS-CoV-2 pediatric studies reported a correlation between higher nucleic acid levels and the ability to culture infectious virus.5 Thus, young children can potentially be important drivers of SARS-CoV-2 spread in the general population, as has been demonstrated with respiratory syncytial virus, where children with high viral loads are more likely to transmit.
Reopening K-12 Schools During the COVID-19 PandemicA Report From the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
JAMA. Published online July 29, 2020.
Kenne A. Dibner, PhD https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2769036
The next few months
July 17, 2020
Dr. John Campbell
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam
(England’s deputy chief medical officer)
“The reality is, until we get a vaccine, and only if we get a vaccine that is really capable of suppressing disease levels, will we ever be “out of this””
“From that perspective, we may have to live, and learn to live, with this virus in the long-term. Certainly for many months to come, if not years.”