ASYMPTOMATIC VECTORS!
A friend of mind who is trained in Systems-Based Transformational Leadership and who is VP of Transformation at a large healthcare system, sent me the
following email today. Please share this with all you feel may need to know this critical data. Love and safety to all of us humans who are in this together. — David Dibble
From my friend and associate, Rick: I am translating a letter from Prof Romagnani Sergio who is a Professor in Florence. He is talking about a study from the University Of Padova in Vo’, a small town outside of Padova and one of the first centers in Italy with positive cases. I am not sure when this study will be published but I hope we can learn from Italy and avoid repeating some of their mistakes
He says:
The results of the study in Vo’ are ready. Every inhabitant in Vo’ has been tested for COVID-19 (about 3000 persons) and it has been shown that the majority of people positive for the disease (50-75%) are completely asymptomatic but represent a strong way to spread the disease. In fact in Vo’ by isolating everyone that was positive the total number of patients decreased from 88 to 7 (at least 10 times lower) within 7-10 days. The most interesting and surprising finding was that isolating all positive patients (with or without symptoms) we were not only able to protect other people from getting the disease but also from the evolution towards a serious illness since the rate of recovery in people positive but isolated was about 8 days for 60% of cases. These data gave us some very important information:
1) the percentage of infected people is high even if people are asymptomatic and represent the majority of case (even if not only) among young people
2) the isolation of asymptomatic people is essential to be able to control the spreading of the virus And the severity of the disease.
In the view of these data is clear that some of the procedures of containment need to be revised. It is fundamental to block the diffusion of the virus to identify the major number of asymptomatic subjects that have an important part in the disease and you identify them as quick as possible.
On the basis of the data from Vo’, we have already started “a massive surveillance” in the entire Veneto region and we have started performing screening tests for all healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, police, support staff) even when asymptomatic to isolate them as soon as possible.
The first conclusion of this experience is that our approach of testing only symptomatic patients is insufficient . Now that there are so many cases of COVID 19 it is not so important to test symptomatic patients who would be isolated anyway. But the crucial thing is to detect the asymptomatic positive patients who have higher chance of spreading the disease since no one expects they can. This is particularly important for doctors and nurses who are exposed and could be the vector of spread between personnel and patients. In many countries in fact they are deciding to avoid testing personnel if not symptomatic ma this is a very dangerous decision. The hospitals are risking becoming areas with high prevalence of positive Subjects who are not isolated and therefore not only can spread the disease to each other but also create communities with higher viral loads where the course of the disease is catastrophic.
It is therefore important to extend the test to those people who are at risk of multiple contagions and isolate them when positive even is asymptomatic. Finally it is very important that all subjects at risk wear a mask not only to protect themselves but also others
Similar approach seems to have been adopted by South Korea.
Sergio Romagnani
Già Professore di Immunologia Clinica e Medicina Interna
Professore Emerito dell’Università di Firenze”
