Below please find a summary and link(s) of new coronavirus-related content published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. The summary below is not intended to substitute for the full article as a source of information. A collection of coronavirus-related content is free to the public at http://go.annals.org/coronavirus.
1. Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly throughout the world. Infected persons who remain asymptomatic may play a role in the ongoing pandemic, but their relative number and effect have been uncertain. Researchers from Scripps Research Translational Institute reviewed the available evidence on asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and found asymptomatic persons seem to account for approximately 40 to 45 percent of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and they can transmit the virus to others for an extended period, and conclude it is imperative that testing programs include those without symptoms. Read the full text: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-3012.
Media contacts: A PDF for this article is not yet available. Please click the link to read full text. The authors, Eric J. Topol, MD, and Daniel P. Oran, AM, can be reached by contacting Anna Andersen at aanders@scripps.edu.
2. Where Is the ID in COVID-19?
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged all of medicine. However, in recent weeks, the nation's need for more infectious disease (ID) expertise has become a clear focal point. Cognitive specialties, such as ID, have attracted fewer physicians to the field than other, high-income-generating specialties. Authors from Massachusetts General Hospital and Lahey Hospital and Medical Center examined how the distribution of ID specialists matches the needs of the COVID-19 pandemic across the U.S. and found that nearly two-thirds of all Americans live in 90 percent of counties with below-average or no ID physician access. Read the full text: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-2684.
Media contacts: A PDF for this article is not yet available. Please click the link to read full text. The lead author, Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, can be reached at rwalensky@mgh.harvard.edu.
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Journal
Annals of Internal Medicine