Article Summary
September 23, 2020
Empirical Transmission Advantage of the D614G Mutant Strain of SARS-CoV-2
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] The SARS-CoV-2 lineage carrying the amino acid change D614G has become the dominant variant in the global COVID-19 pandemic. A study using epidemiological data and phylogenetic data (35,377 sequences) estimated that the G614 mutant of SARS-CoV-2 is 31% more transmissible than the D614 wildtype. Leung et al. (Sept 23, 2020). Empirical Transmission…
Occurrence and Transmission Potential of Asymptomatic and Presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections: A Living Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A meta-analysis of 94 studies reported that 20% of people who become infected with SARS-CoV-2 remain asymptomatic throughout the infection. The meta-analytic estimate showed a non-significantly lower secondary attack rate in contacts of people with asymptomatic infection compared to those with symptomatic infection (RR=0.35, 95%CI 0.10-1.27). The authors conclude that a combination of prevention measures,…
Changing Age Distribution of the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, May–August 2020
There was a shift in the age distribution of people affected by COVID-19 in the US between the period of January-May and June-August 2020, with a larger proportion of younger age groups affected in the later period. The authors conclude that this report provides preliminary evidence that younger adults contributed to community transmission of SARS-CoV-2…
Risk of Covid-19 Acquisition among Emergency Department Patients: A Retrospective Case Control Study. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology
Spending time in an emergency department (ED) at the same time as someone with COVID-19 did not appear to increase the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings are based on a case-control study across 39 EDs in the western US including 102 cases who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 following an ED encounter unrelated to…
September 22, 2020
COVID-19 Contact Tracing in Two Counties — North Carolina, June–July 2020
During periods of high COVID-19 incidence in two counties in North Carolina, many people with COVID-19 did not report any contacts, many contacts were not reached, and the typical time needed to notify contacts likely reduced the impact of contact tracing as a mitigation strategy. In one county, 48% of COVID-19 patients reported no contacts,…
Immune Life History, Vaccination, and the Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 over the next 5 Years
Saad-Roy et al. used SIR(S) models to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic might unfold under different assumptions about how long immunity lasts to SARS-CoV-2 and how protective it is against re-infection and transmission. They use these models to explore estimates for the magnitude and timing of future COVID-19 cases given different protective efficacy and duration…
Depression Reported by US Adults in 2017–2018 and March and April 2020
The percentage of US adults with depression increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic from 8% in 2017–2018 to 11% in March 2020 and 14% in April 2020. Using data from the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 screening instrument, Daly et al. found statistically significant increases in depression levels for all population subgroups examined, with the exception of…
Tracing Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Carriers among 3674 Hospital Staff: A Cross-Sectional Survey
A single-center cross-sectional study of hospital staff in Wuhan, China tested all staff members who did not have clinical symptoms of COVID-19 (n=3,764) and found that 126 (3%) hospital staff had findings consistent with SARS-CoV-2 infection. These included 61 (2%) with anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies, 37 (1%) with chest CT findings consistent with COVID-19, and 28…
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID‐19 Infections and Deaths across U.S. Nursing Homes
A national study of 12,576 nursing homes indicated that nursing homes caring for disproportionately more racial/ethnic minority residents tended to have more new COVID-19 confirmed cases among their residents and staff and more new COVID-19 related deaths among residents. The number of weekly new COVID-19 confirmed cases among residents increased with higher nursing home proportion…
Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV2 Viral Loads in Young Children Do Not Differ Significantly from Those in Older Children and Adults
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A multicenter investigation of >5,000 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection found no significant difference in the amount of viral nucleic acid in nasopharyngeal swabs between young children and adults. Viral loads were comparable between children under 5, older children, and adults. Madera et al. (Sept 22, 2020). Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV2 Viral Loads in…
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