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Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals are thought to play major roles in virus transmission. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of asymptomatic carriers with COVID-19 to control the spread of the virus. We retrospectively investigated the clinical characteristics of 648 consecutive subjects who were enrolled in the study and were divided into asymptomatic carriers, mild cases, ordinary cases, severe or critical cases, and evaluated their impact on disease severity by means of Spearman correlation and multiple regression analyses. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted to determine the optimum cutoff levels of laboratory findings for diagnostic predictors of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. In our study, a total of 648 subjects on admission with a mean age of 45.61 y including 345 males and 303 females were enrolled in our study. The leukocyte, lymphocyte, eosinophil, platelet, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, CD3+, CD4+, and CD8 + T lymphocyte levels, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate differed significantly among the groups (all p ≤ 0.05). Disease severity was negatively associated with the CD3+ (r = −0.340; p

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading with a rising death toll and transmission rate reported in high income countries rather than in low income countries. The overburdened healthcare systems and poor disease surveillance systems in resource-limited settings may struggle to cope with this COVID-19 outbreak and this calls for a tailored strategic response for these settings. Here, we recommend a low cost blockchain and artificial intelligence-coupled self-testing and tracking systems for COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases. Prompt deployment and appropriate implementation of the proposed system have the potential to curb the transmissions of COVID-19 and the related mortalities, particularly in settings with poor access to laboratory infrastructure.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading with a rising death toll and transmission rate reported in high income countries rather than in low income countries. The overburdened healthcare systems and poor disease surveillance systems in resource-limited settings may struggle to cope with this COVID-19 outbreak and this calls for a tailored strategic response for these settings. Here, we recommend a low cost blockchain and artificial intelligence-coupled self-testing and tracking systems for COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases. Prompt deployment and appropriate implementation of the proposed system have the potential to curb the transmissions of COVID-19 and the related mortalities, particularly in settings with poor access to laboratory infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals are thought to play major roles in virus transmission. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of asymptomatic carriers with COVID-19 to control the spread of the virus. We retrospectively investigated the clinical characteristics of 648 consecutive subjects who were enrolled in the study and were divided into asymptomatic carriers, mild cases, ordinary cases, severe or critical cases, and evaluated their impact on disease severity by means of Spearman correlation and multiple regression analyses. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted to determine the optimum cutoff levels of laboratory findings for diagnostic predictors of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. In our study, a total of 648 subjects on admission with a mean age of 45.61 y including 345 males and 303 females were enrolled in our study. The leukocyte, lymphocyte, eosinophil, platelet, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, CD3+, CD4+, and CD8 + T lymphocyte levels, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate differed significantly among the groups (all p ≤ 0.05). Disease severity was negatively associated with the CD3+ ( r = -0.340; p < 0.001), CD4+ ( r = -0.290; p = 0.001) and CD8+ ( r = -0.322; p < 0.001) T lymphocyte levels. The significant diagnostic predictors of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 included the blood cell, cytokine, and T lymphocyte subset levels. Inflammation and immune response may play important roles in disease progression. Hence, the laboratory parameters identified should be considered in clinical practice, which provide new insights into the identification of asymptomatic individuals and the prevention of virus transmission.