Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38013777›Full record

ArticleInfectious medicine2023

Transmission risk of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ci Zhang, Chao Zhou, Wanqing Xu, Shimin Zheng, Yanxiao Gao, Peiqi Li, Luojia Deng, Xuezhixing Zhang, Qianxue Jiang, Frank Qian and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Infectious medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Ci ZhangXiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Chao ZhouDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Wanqing XuT.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Shimin ZhengDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA.
Yanxiao GaoSchool of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China.
Peiqi LiSchool of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Luojia DengDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Xuezhixing ZhangSchool of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Qianxue JiangDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Frank QianDepartment of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Xianhong LiXiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Honghong WangXiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Huachun ZouSchool of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China.
Yinglin XiaDepartment of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Tao WangDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Hui LuDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Han-Zhu QianSchool of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Global evidence on the transmission of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection needs to be synthesized. Methods: A search of 4 electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases) as of January 24, 2021 was performed. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Studies which reported the transmission rate among close contacts with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 cases were included, and transmission activities occurred were considered. The transmission rates were pooled by zero-inflated beta distribution. The risk ratios (RRs) were calculated using random-effects models. Results: Of 4923 records retrieved and reviewed, 15 studies including 3917 close contacts with asymptomatic indexes were eligible. The pooled transmission rates were 1.79 per 100 person-days (or 1.79%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.41%-3.16%) by asymptomatic index, which is significantly lower than by presymptomatic (5.02%, 95% CI 2.37%-7.66%; Conclusions: People with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection are at risk of transmitting the virus to their close contacts, particularly in household settings. The transmission potential of asymptomatic infection is lower than symptomatic and presymptomatic infections. This meta-analysis provides evidence for predicting the epidemic trend and promulgating vaccination and other control measures. Registered with PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, CRD42021269446; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=269446.

Indexed as

AsymptomaticMeta-analysisSARS-CoV-2Systematic reviewTransmission rate

Identifiers

PMID38013777
PMCPMC9757919

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.