The nation’s top infectious disease doctor says a study published Thursday night shows people can spread the Wuhan coronavirus before symptoms set in.
"There’s no doubt after reading this paper that asymptomatic transmission is occurring. This study lays the question to rest,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined four Germany business associates who became infected through asymptomatic transmission.
The chain of transmission: It began with a woman in Shanghai whose parents came to visit from Wuhan. They were healthy during their visit, but were later diagnosed as having the coronavirus.
Then, the woman flew from Shanghai to Germany, where she went to workshops and ate meals with German employees. She was healthy with no signs of the disease at that point.
Within eight days, four employees of that company were diagnosed with the coronavirus. Some employees had not attended workshops with the woman -- but they spent time with someone who did.