Asymptomatic infection is a positive nucleic acid test for the new coronavirus, but there is no sore throat, fever, fatigue, dry cough, hyposmia and a series of symptoms and signs, and there is no evidence of pneumonia on CT imaging. personnel.
Why are there so many asymptomatic infections in this outbreak? Why have asymptomatic infections increased recently?
One is that with the continuous mutation of the new coronavirus, the transmission is strong, but the pathogenicity is declining, so the symptoms caused by the Omicron variant are relatively mild;
The second is With the immunization of large-scale people, the severe rate and death rate after infection are decreasing, and the proportion of mild or asymptomatic is increasing;
Third, disease control and early rapid screening by the health system have made some early The infected person was discovered before they showed clinical symptoms;
Fourth, it was related to the immunity of the infected object. Asymptomatic conditions are more likely to occur in younger people.
How are asymptomatic infected persons identified?
Since asymptomatic infected people have no obvious symptoms and signs, how did they find out that they were infected with the new coronavirus?
Jiang Rongmeng, a member of the National Health and Medical Commission’s Epidemic Response and Disposal Expert Group, answered:
“It is often found when tracing the close contacts of a patient.”< /p>
“There may be two situations in the detection (asymptomatic infection):
One is He may not have the disease yet, that is, during the incubation period, especially in the middle and late stages of the incubation period, he is found to have nucleic acid positive; I’m fine, and when it comes to the recovery period, it is found that he has positive antibodies or nucleic acids, so he may also be considered to be an asymptomatic infection.”
Will asymptomatic infections infect others?
It is safe to say that asymptomatic infected persons are contagious.
Asymptomatic only means that the infected person has no symptoms and cannot directly measure the infectivity.
Therefore, according to relevant national requirements, asymptomatic infected persons should also be checked for close contacts and sub-close contacts. Screening of high-risk groups and corresponding site control measures.
The close contacts and next-close contacts of asymptomatic infected persons, as well as the close contacts and second-close contacts of confirmed cases, should be managed and screened in the same way.
Future antiviral small molecule drugs may be used for asymptomatic infections if they are marketed.
What the current infected person needs to do is to get enough rest and recover as soon as possible.
What percentage of asymptomatic infections will be diagnosed?
Although we don’t yet know what proportion of asymptomatic infections will become confirmed, it is certain that the proportion of asymptomatic infections varies with different mutants.
At present, it seems that the delta variant has a high probability of invading the lower respiratory tract, and the Omicron variant has a high probability of invading the upper respiratory tract, and the symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection are milder.
Compared with the delta variant, the proportion of asymptomatic infections caused by the Omicron variant was relatively high.
What else should I pay attention to besides wearing a mask?
A very important measure is to wash your hands!
Keep in mind the three elements of hand washing: “first with soap, second with 20 seconds of washing, and third with running water”.
When transiting, if you take public transportation to enter the office or go home, you have to wash your hands, after going to the toilet, you have to wash your hands after taking the express delivery, and you have to wash your hands when you touch things in public places. This should be part of our daily life. conscious habits in.
Source: Health Inner Mongolia Official Weibo