Asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in adults is uncommon using rigorous symptom characterization and follow-up in an acute-care adult hospital outbreak

Heidi M O'Grady; Devika Dixit; Zoha Khawaja; Kate Snedeker; Jennifer Ellison; Joyce Erebor; Peter Jamieson; Amanda Weiss; Daniel Salcedo; Kimberley Roberts; Karen Wiens; Nicholas Etches; Jenine Leal; John M Conly

doi:10.1017/ice.2022.168

Asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in adults is uncommon using rigorous symptom characterization and follow-up in an acute-care adult hospital outbreak

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2023 Jul;44(7):1193-1195. doi: 10.1017/ice.2022.168. Epub 2022 Jul 7.

Authors

Heidi M O'Grady¹, Devika Dixit^{2

3}, Zoha Khawaja⁴, Kate Snedeker⁵, Jennifer Ellison¹, Joyce Erebor¹, Peter Jamieson⁶, Amanda Weiss⁷, Daniel Salcedo⁷, Kimberley Roberts⁷, Karen Wiens⁷, Nicholas Etches^{5

8}, Jenine Leal^{1

4

8

9}, John M Conly^{1

4

10

11

12}

Affiliations

¹ Infection Prevention and Control, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
² Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
³ Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
⁴ W21C, O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
⁵ Provincial Population and Public Health, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁶ Department of Family Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
⁷ Cardiac Sciences, Foothills Medical Centre, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
⁸ Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
⁹ Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
¹² Synder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Abstract

Asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported as a significant driver of COVID-19 outbreaks. Our hospital ward outbreak analysis suggests that comprehensive symptoms and signs assessment, in combination with adequate follow-up, allows a more precise determination of COVID-19 symptoms. Asymptomatic infection was quite uncommon among adults in this setting.

MeSH terms

Adult
COVID-19* / diagnosis
Disease Outbreaks
Follow-Up Studies
Hospitals
Humans
SARS-CoV-2*