SARS‑CoV‑2 in a tropical area of Colombia, a remarkable conversion of presymptomatic to symptomatic people impacts public health

Background: The ability of SARS-CoV-2 to remain in asymptomatic individuals facilitates its dissemination and makes its control difficult. Objective. To establish a cohort of asymptomatic individuals, change to the symptomatic status, and determine the most frequent clinical manifestations. Methods: Between April 9 and August 9, 2020, molecular diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed in 154 asymptomatic people in contact with subjects diagnosed with COVID-19. Nasopharyngeal swabs were performed on these people in different hospitals in Córdoba, the Caribbean area of Colombia. The genes E, RdRp, and N were amplified with RT-qPCR. Based on the molecular results and the Cq values, the patients were subsequently followed up through telephone calls to verify their health conditions. Results: Overall, of 154 asymptomatic individuals, 103 (66.9%) remained asymptomatic, and 51 (33.1%) changed to symptomatic. The most frequent clinical manifestations in young people were anosmia and arthralgia. Adults showed cough, ageusia, and odynophagia; in the elderly were epigastralgia, dyspnea, and headache. Mortality was 8%. Conclusions: A proportion of 33% of presymptomatic individuals was found, of which four of them died. This high rate could indicate a silent transmission, contributing significantly to the epidemic associated with SARS-CoV-2.

• Autores: Martínez Bravo, Caty Milena; Serrano Coll, Héctor; Faccini Martínez, Álvaro Adolfo; Contreras Cogollo, Veronica; Galeano Anaya, Ketty Esther; Botero, Yesica; Herrera, Yonairo; García, Alejandra; Garay Montalvo, Evelin; Rivero, Ricardo; Contreras, Héctor; López Mejía, Yesica Paola; Guzmán Terán, Camilo Antonio; Miranda Regino, Jorge Luis; Arrieta Bernate, Germán Javier; Mattar Velilla, Ameth Salim
• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2022
• Institución: Corporación Universitaria del Caribe - CECAR
• Repositorio: Repositorio Digital CECAR
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.cecar.edu.co:cecar/10761
• Acceso en línea: https://repositorio.cecar.edu.co/handle/cecar/10761
• Palabra clave: Confounding factors epidemiology; Presymptomatic disease; Preventive measures; Preventive medicine and public health; Disease transmission; Infectious
• Rights: openAccess
• License: Derechos reservados - Corporación Universitaria de Caribe - CECAR