Coronavirus: one in five infected people has no symptoms, according to a study - France 24

Berlin (AFP)

One in five people infected with the new coronavirus has no symptoms, a study in one of the main foci of the pandemic in Germany revealed on Monday.

A team of researchers from the University of Bonn has carried out an extensive study of the patients identified in Gangelt, a locality of about 11,000 inhabitants located in the district of Heinsberg, one of the main German households after the participation in a carnival of a couple. infected.

This study, based on interviews and analyzes with 919 people, from 405 households, thus makes it possible to precisely determine the fatality rate of the infection. In Gangelt, some 15% of the population has been infected. The death rate among these patients reached 0.37%.

"In Gangelt, 22% of those infected showed no symptoms," the study also reveals.

"The fact that apparently one in five infections occurs with no visible symptoms of disease suggests that infected people who shed the virus and therefore can infect others cannot be reliably identified on the basis of recognizable symptoms of the disease. illness ", notes Professor Martin Exner, co-author of the study.

This aspect confirms, according to him, the importance of the general rules of distance and hygiene.

"Anyone supposed to be in good health that we meet may be carrying the virus without knowing it. We must be aware of it and act accordingly," advises this researcher, while Germany has started a gradual deconfinement.

Heinsberg has become a hotbed of the epidemic because of this carnival.

Most of the people infected there presented symptoms, more than other patients who did not participate in the rally.

"In order to determine whether the physical proximity with the other participants and the increased formation of droplets by loud conversations and songs contributed to a stronger evolution of the disease, we plan additional investigations in cooperation", warns the team of research.

The study also states that infections within the same family are fairly low and that more generally, the infection rate appears "very similar in children, adults and the elderly and apparently does not depend on the 'age "or gender.

© 2020 AFP