Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

May 15, 2020

Estimating the Extent of True Asymptomatic COVID-19 and Its Potential for Community Transmission Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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  • A systematic review that included 5 articles from three countries (China, USA, and Italy) reports a pooled estimate of the proportion of asymptomatic cases to be 16% (95% CI: 12%-20%). While the findings are lower than many highly publicized studies, the sampling frame for the US-based studies only included residents, healthcare personnel, and visitors of long-term care facilities and may not be a reflection of the true role of asymptomatic cases in the US.  

Byambasuren et al. (May 15, 2020). Estimating the Extent of True Asymptomatic COVID-19 and Its Potential for Community Transmission Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Preprint downloaded May 15 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.10.20097543