Screening for symptoms of the new strain of coronavirus may not be an effective way to identify those infected with it, according to a letter to the editor in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The letter, penned by German researchers, details the effectiveness of the screening process for a group of people coming to Germany from the Hubei Province in China.
The group was composed of mostly German nationals who were being evacuated to Frankfurt, Germany, Feb. 1. Screening for symptoms and clinical signs of infection was performed before the group left China. A total of 126 travelers were allowed to board the aircraft.
On the plane, 10 travelers suspected of having the infection were isolated and transferred to a hospital in Frankfurt immediately on arrival.
The remaining 116 passengers were sent to the medical assessment center at Frankfurt Airport, where they were asked to report current symptoms of fever or a cold, and they were screened for signs of infection in the nose and throat.
Additionally, 114 passengers underwent a throat swab to test for COVID-19, the official name of the new coronavirus strain. Two of the passengers who had passed the screening process tested positive for the virus.
The authors concluded that "a symptom-based screening process was ineffective in detecting [COVID-19] infection in two persons who later were found to have evidence of [COVID-19] in a throat swab."
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