SARS-CoV-2 screening test for Japanese returnees from Wuhan, China, January 2020

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Abstract

Background

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was found to be the causative microorganism of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which started to spread in Wuhan, China. This study was to evaluate the effectiveness of questionnaire, symptoms-based screening, and PCR screening of returnees from COVID-19 endemic areas on a chartered flight, to examine the proportion of infected persons and the proportion of asymptomatic persons among infected persons who returned from Wuhan.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was done in seven tertiary medical institutions in Japan. A total of 566 Japanese who returned from Wuhan participated in the study.

Results

Overall, 11 of the 566 passengers had a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR result for pharyngeal swabs and six were asymptomatic. Only fever differed between SARS-CoV-2-positive and -negative individuals (p < 0.043). Six of the eleven PCR-positive individuals were asymptomatic and four remained positive on day 10 and One asymptomatic person tested positive up to day 27. Two of the eleven were negative on the first PCR test and positive on the second.

Conclusions

Our results will be important insights on screening returnees from locked down cities, as well as important data on the proportion of asymptomatic individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2. A 13-day observation period and a second round of PCR may be effective to screen patients, including asymptomatic infections.

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Author and article information

Journal

Title: Open Forum Infectious Diseases

Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)

ISSN (Electronic): 2328-8957

Publication date (Electronic): June 20 2020

Affiliations

[1 ]Disease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

[2 ]COVID-19 NIID Evacuation Flight Laboratory Testing Team (NEFLATT), National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

[3 ]AMR Clinical Reference Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

[4 ]Department of Infectious Disease, Kameda Medical Center, Higashicho, Kamogawa City, Chiba, Japan

[5 ]Department of Infectious Diseases, Ebara Hospital, Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Hospitals Corporation, Higashiyukigaya, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan

[6 ]Department of Infectious Diseases, Toshima Hospital, Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Hospitals Corporation, Sakaecho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Japan

[7 ]Department of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital, Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

[8 ]Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital, Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

[9 ]Division of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, National Defense Medical College, Namiki, Tokorozawa City, Saitama, Japan

[10 ]Department of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo Metropolitan Bokutoh General Hospital, Kotobashi, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Japan

[11 ]Japanese Red Cross Musashino Hospital, Kyonancho, Musashino City, Tokyo, Japan

[12 ]National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Article

DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa243

SO-VID: a16e7f13-742b-4587-815c-b49de6ae79f9

License:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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