Woman infects 5 family members; China’s researchers warn patients can transmit coronavirus without showing symptoms

More worrying news coming from China. Business Insider reports the following:

Chinese researchers have confirmed a case of asymptomatic transmission of the new coronavirus: A 20-year-old woman from Wuhan passed it to five of her family members but never got physically sick herself.

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The case study is the first concrete evidence that a person showing no symptoms can pass the coronavirus to others — a fact that could make curbing the outbreak even more challenging.

The researchers behind the finding said the 20-year-old woman was isolated and closely observed at the Fifth People’s Hospital of Anyang. She never become physically ill, even after her family members developed fevers. Two of them got severe pneumonia.

For now, the woman’s asymptomatic transmission appears to be an anomaly, but health experts have documented other instances in which people tested positive for the virus without showing symptoms.

A report from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed records of all of China’s reported cases of the virus from December 8 to February 11 and found that 1.2% of patients confirmed to be infected showed no symptoms. A far higher portion of asymptomatic cases was found on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where 322 of 621 people tested positive but showed no symptoms.

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