Study to Track Asymptomatic COVID-19 Patients

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers are launching a
community-based study to find out how many asymptomatic people in Marion
County have COVID-19. IU says the study is the first to assess active
COVID-19 in people who aren’t showing symptoms.

The study, called Tracking Asymptomatic COVID-19 Through Indianapolis
Communities, is being led by IU physician-scientists Dr. Chandy John and Dr.
James Wood.

“We know that not everyone who contracts COVID-19 shows symptoms, which is
why it’s so important to understand how common it is in the community,” said
John, director of the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease and
Global Health at IU School of Medicine. “Our team has been working together
for weeks to make sure we could start the study as quickly as possible since
we know how valuable this information will be. There are currently no
community studies in the U.S. that assess active infection in both adults
and children.”

People who are already part of the All IN for Health volunteer registry will
receive invitations to participate via email if they live in Marion County.
When a home is selected for the study, an IU School of Medicine
representative will drop off an at-home nasal swab testing kit and
volunteers will self-administer at home.

“It’s important for us to study whether children are infected,” said Wood,
assistant professor of pediatrics at IU School of Medicine and infectious
disease doctor at Riley Hospital for Children. “Some early studies suggest
that children could be a major source of asymptomatic spread, while other
more recent studies suggest children have less asymptomatic infection. It’s
important to know which is the case here in Indiana. Along with the
participants’ age and location, we’ll be looking at ethnic and racial
backgrounds to determine if certain populations are disproportionately
affected by the coronavirus.”

Each sample kit will be sent to a testing agency, and researchers expect to
receive the results within five to seven days. Results will be shared with
participants and additional instructions will be given if a test comes back
positive.

Source: Inside Indiana Business

April 27th, 2020