Elsevier

Journal of Infection

Volume 81, Issue 1, July 2020, Pages 179-182
Journal of Infection

Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.03.040Get rights and content

Highlights

  • In this retrospective case series, 85 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and their household members were enrolled.

  • 47 (30%) of 155 close contacts were positive with SARS-CoV-2, indicating the rate of secondary transmission among household contacts of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection was 30%.

  • Timely quarantine of all confirmed patients, suspected cases and close contacts is urgently needed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 from a wider spread.

Summary

Background

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused an epidemic in China and many other countries. Many infected clusters have been found within familial households, but the data about secondary transmission among household contacts is limited.

Methods

In this retrospective case series, we enrolled 85 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and their household members in Wuhan. Patients were confirmed infected with SARS-CoV-2 by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays on throat swabs. Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data of the household members were collected.

Results

There were 155 close contacts in total. 104 contacts received RT-PCR assays, with 47 (30%) positive cases and 57 (37%) negative cases. 51 (33%) cases did not received RT-PCR tests for they showed no symptoms of pneumonia during the 2 weeks of quarantine. The infection rate of close contacts was 38% for households with 1 contact, 50% for households with 2 contacts, and 31% for households with 3 contacts.

Conclusions

The rate of secondary transmission among household contacts of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection was 30%. Our data provide insight into the rate of secondary transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in home.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2
Transmission
Household
Wuhan

Abbreviations

COVID-19
coronavirus disease 2019
SARS-CoV-2
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
RT-PCR
real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction
ORF1ab
open reading frame1ab
Ct value
cycle threshold value
CT
computed X-ray tomography
MERS-CoV
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
SARS-CoV
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
CFR
overall case-fatality rate

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The rate of secondary transmission among household contacts of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection was 30% in Wuhan, China.

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