Asymptomatic Covid-19: a major source of infection at the onset of an Omicron storm

Carolina, Diamandis,; Feldman, Jonathan; Tudor, Adrian

doi:10.22541/au.164004638.87453812/v1

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

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“…We estimate that 59.8% of the positive tests were asymptomatic, where asymptomatic rates were similar among elementary school students (60.8%) and students in junior high and high schools (58.1%). Previous studies have reported asymptomatic rates associated with the Omicron variant to be between 32% and 44% [55], where asymptomatic rates tend to be higher in younger age groups [29, 47, 55]. Our high asymptomatic rates could be due to reporting errors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Extensive SARS-CoV-2 testing reveals BA.1/BA.2 asymptomatic rates and underreporting in school children

Martignoni

Mohammadi

Loredo-Osti

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Case underreporting during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major challenge to the planning and evaluation of public health responses. Inconsistent underreporting can undermine effective risk assessment due to high uncertainty in predicted future scenarios. Underreporting rates have been particularly high among children and youth, given that asymptomatic school children were often considered a less vulnerable population. In January 2022, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) was experiencing an Omicron variant outbreak (BA.1/BA.2 subvariants) and public health officials recommended that all students returning to elementary, junior high, and high schools (~59,452 students) complete two rapid antigen tests (RATs) to be performed three days apart. To estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, we asked parents and guardians to report the results of the RATs completed by K-12 students using an online survey, and to specify the students' school level and if students with positive RAT results had symptoms. When comparing the survey responses with the number of cases and tests reported by the NL testing system, we found that 1 out of every 4.3 (3.1-5.3) positive households were captured by provincial case count, with 5.1% positivity estimated from the RAT results, and 1.2% positivity reported by the provincial testing system. The survey data indicate that a higher percentage of SARS-CoV-2 cases were found in elementary schools, with 62.9% of positive cases (95% CI: 44.3%, 83.0%) reported from elementary school students, and the remaining 37.1% (95% CI: 22.7%, 52.9%) reported from junior high and high school students. Asymptomatic infections were 59.8% of the positive cases, with no significant difference between asymptomatic rates in elementary schools (60.8%) or in junior high and high schools (58.1%). Given the low survey participation rate (3.5%), our results may suffer from sample selection biases, and should be interpreted with caution. Nonetheless, our estimate of the underreporting ratio is consistent with ratios calculated from serology data, and our study provides insights into infection prevalence and asymptomatic infections in school children, a currently understudied population.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Extensive SARS-CoV-2 testing reveals BA.1/BA.2 asymptomatic rates and underreporting in school children

Martignoni

Mohammadi

Loredo-Osti

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Leveraging wastewater surveillance to actively monitor Covid‐19 community dynamics in rural areas with reduced reliance on clinical testing

Jarvie,

Nguyen,

Southwell

et al. 2024

Applied Research

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The prevalence of COVID‐19 in the community has become more difficult to gauge utilizing clinical testing due to a decrease in reported test results stemming from the availability of at‐home test kits and a reduction in the number of cases seeking medical treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine the trend of diminishing correlation between reported clinical cases of COVID‐19 and wastewater‐based surveillance epidemiological data as home testing became available in the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Wastewater grab samples were collected weekly from 16 regional locations from June 2021‐December 2022. Samples were analyzed for SARS‐CoV‐2 N1 and N2 viral particles using reverse transcriptase digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (RT ddPCR). N1 and N2 gene copies were correlated with clinical cases. The t‐test was used to determine correlation deterioration point. Clinical cases post‐deterioration were calculated for high‐correlated pre‐deterioration locations using linear regression. Correlation between the wastewater‐based surveillance of SARS‐CoV‐2 and reported clinical cases deteriorated after February 1, 2022. This corresponds with the timeframe in which commercially available at‐home test kits became available in the United States. The increase in at‐home testing for SARS‐CoV‐2 likely contributed to the decrease in reported clinical positive tests in early 2022, providing an unrealistic picture of the presence of Covid‐19 in the community. As measures to reduce exposure such as personal masking, clinical testing, social isolating, and quarantining continue to decline, wastewater surveillance for the presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 may be the best method for public health professionals to remain aware of virus dynamics in localized regions. Time‐series modeling adds another layer of information when clinical data is unobtainable or underreported.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Asymptomatic Covid-19: a major source of infection at the onset of an Omicron storm

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

Extensive SARS-CoV-2 testing reveals BA.1/BA.2 asymptomatic rates and underreporting in school children

Extensive SARS-CoV-2 testing reveals BA.1/BA.2 asymptomatic rates and underreporting in school children

Leveraging wastewater surveillance to actively monitor Covid‐19 community dynamics in rural areas with reduced reliance on clinical testing

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