Objectives: To describe the epidemiological and sociodemographic characteristics of asymptomatic carriers reported in the literature, and to review the strategies used for diagnosis and control.
Methods: Systematic literature review approach. As inclusion criteria, all studies published between January 1 and June 26, 2020, conducted in humans, that reported people who remained asymptomatic of COVID-19. Descriptors were adapted to the interfaces of eight bibliographic databases were configured: PubMed, Ovid, SciELO, Ebsco, Scopus, LILACS, Epistemonikos and Embase.
Results: About 45% of the articles reported adult population, thirteen reported mixed population (adult and pediatric). 3 525 asymptomatic people were reported, with an average of 37,1 years [0.5-82 years]. Although the effectiveness of the control and prevention measures was not reported, the identification, isolation and follow-up of contacts stands out as a potential effective mechanism to prevent the transmission.
Conclusions: The use of this information could be relevant to guide evidence-based public health policies and the protection of populations and the improvement of health care that contributes to stopping this pandemic.