(Wang Zhuo, Health Times) On April 7, the National Health and Medical Commission reported that from 0 to 24:00 on April 6, there were 1,284 new local confirmed cases, 21,711 local asymptomatic infections, and new asymptomatic cases. There are 17 times as many infected people as there are confirmed cases.
In an interview with Health Times on April 7, Ning Qin, director of the National Medical Center for Major Public Health Events and Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, said that asymptomatic infections generally do not require any treatment, and only need to be isolated alone Or focus on quarantine in Fangcang shelter hospitals for 1-2 weeks. “Asymptomatic infected people cannot be called patients with new coronary pneumonia, but he is a very important source of infection.”
National Major Public Ning Qin, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Health Event Medical Center. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
“In fact, asymptomatic infection is a medical term set after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia in 2020. This term was not used in previous infectious disease textbooks.” Ning Qin said , the new coronary pneumonia virus has broken through a lot of our previous understanding of other infectious virus infections. For example, respiratory infectious diseases are usually prevalent in winter and spring, while new coronary pneumonia has a variety of transmission routes, which can be prevalent in any season, and infected people are asymptomatic. During this period, it is highly contagious. On the one hand, asymptomatic infected persons are important and hidden sources of infection, isolation management is very necessary to block the spread of the virus from the source; A very small number of asymptomatic infections may develop mild, common or even severe new coronary pneumonia.
At present, asymptomatic infections are mainly found through nucleic acid testing, and it is difficult for ordinary people to find out on their own. Ning Qin mentioned that another effective way to detect asymptomatic infection is virus antigen and antibody testing. The newly launched COVID-19 antigen test is simple and easy to implement, and is an important supplement to nucleic acid testing. Antibody testing can be used in unvaccinated individuals as one of the diagnostic criteria for infection.
She advises everyone to be vigilant about whether they have a history of exposure to the virus, such as whether they have been to high-risk areas, whether they have crossed with confirmed people on their itinerary, and it is best to get tested as soon as possible once the risk is found.