Ratio of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases among ascertained SARS-CoV-2 infections in different regions and population groups in 2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis including 130 123 infections from 241 studies

• Published in: BMJ open Vol. 11; no. 12; p. e049752
• Main Authors: Chen, Xiao, Huang, Ziyue, Wang, Jingxuan, Zhao, Shi, Wong, Martin Chi-Sang, Chong, Ka Chun, He, Daihai, Li, Jinhui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England British Medical Journal Publishing Group 07.12.2021; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Series: Original research
• Subjects: Age groups; Asymptomatic; Asymptomatic Infections - epidemiology; Bias; Child; Citations; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Disease transmission; epidemiology; Estimates; Female; Humans; Infections; infectious diseases; Medical research; Meta-analysis; Pandemics; Pathogens; Population; Population Groups; Pregnancy; Public Health; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Software; Systematic review; China; COVID-19; epidemiology; public health; infectious diseases

IntroductionAsymptomatic infection of SARS-CoV-2 may lead to silent community transmission and compromise the COVID-19 pandemic control measures. We aimed to estimate the rate of asymptomatic COVID-19 from published studies and compare this rate among different regions and patient groups.MethodsIn t...