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Covert coronavirus infections could be seeding new outbreaks

Scientists are rushing to estimate the proportion of people with mild or no symptoms who could be spreading the pathogen.
  1. Jane Qiu
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As coronavirus outbreaks surge worldwide, research teams are racing to understand a crucial epidemiological puzzle — what proportion of infected people have mild or no symptoms and might be passing the virus on to others. Some of the first detailed estimates of these covert cases suggest that they could represent some 60% of all infections.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00822-x

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 20 March 2020: An earlier version of this story misspelt Gerardo Chowell’s name.

References

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