June 16, 2020

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection among Returnees to Japan from Wuhan, China, 2020

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

• In January 2020, 566 Japanese nationals were repatriated from Wuhan, China and were monitored for 14 days following their return. Universal RT-PCR testing identified 12 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection over this period. Entry screening only detected 7/12 cases, 2 of whom were symptomatic and 5 of whom were asymptomatic. Subsequent testing identified 5 additional cases among individuals whose first RT-PCR test result was negative. This study found that symptom-based testing performed poorly and missed 5/7 prevalent cases at entry. Even with universal screening, nearly half of cases (5/12) would have been missed without repeated testing. 

Arima et al. (Apr 10, 2020). Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection among Returnees to Japan from Wuhan, China, 2020. Emerging Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2607.200994