Clinical Characteristics of 30 Chinese Patients with Asymptomatic
Infections with a European Strain of SARS-CoV-2 Returning from Africa
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 is an acute infectious respiratory disease caused
by SARS-CoV-2. It has caused many deaths worldwide. Asymptomatic
patients may be as infectious as symptomatic patients, but they are
harder to identify. It is difficult for asymptomatic patients to realize
that they have been infected and seek medical treatment in a timely
manner, which poses challenges to virus prevention and control measures.
Methods: This study reports 30 asymptomatic Chinese COVID-19 patients
from the same road engineering company who worked in Sudan during the
epidemic. Our team listed their symptoms after admission, various
monitoring indicators and disease course to provide more information on
asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. Results: 30 asymptomatic Chinese
COVID-19 patients’ throat swab tests for SARS-CoV-2 were positive.
Through further genetic testing, we found that these 30 Chinese
individuals were infected with the European strain of SARS-CoV-2
circulating in Africa. In this study, the infection events occurred
across three continents and suggested that the European strain could be
brought to Asia via Africa by asymptomatic infected individuals and that
the incubation and infection periods may be long; these points should be
considered in epidemic prevention and epidemiological investigations.
Fourteen days of quarantine may not be enough. After having negative
results on at least 5 consecutive nucleic acid tests spanning 30 days, a
patient may subsequently have a positive test result. Conclusions: We
present our diagnosis and treatment process to provide useful reference
information for colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic.