An epidemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has spread unexpectedly in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, since December 2019. There are few reports about asymptomatic contacts of infected patients identified as positive for SARS-CoV-2 through screening. We studied the epidemiological and clinical outcomes in 55 asymptomatic carriers who were laboratory confirmed to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 through nucleic acid testing of pharyngeal swab samples. The asymptomatic carriers seldom occurred among young people (aged 18-29 years) who had close contact with infected family members. In the majority of patients, the outcome was mild or ordinary 2019 novel coronavirus disease during hospitalization.
Keywords: SARS coronavirus 2; asymptomatic infection; outcome.
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