Colorado State University Confirms Asymptomatic People Can Still Have COVID-19
Colorado State University has confirmed that even asymptomatic people can have COVID-19.
According to Source, the university's Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology tested 462 asymptomatic Colorado healthcare workers, and discovered that 57 of them were positive for the coronavirus.
Greg Ebel, a professor in the department, and Dr. Nicole Ehrhart, director of the Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging at CSU, are conducting the study.
Ehrhart stated that the goal of the research is to implement an early warning system in long-term care facilities in order to minimize the chances of a COVID-19 positive caregiver infecting a patient.
With a system like this, facilities would be able to identify and temporarily remove the infected caregiver, even if they are not showing symptoms.
The tests will also allow Ebel and Ehrhart to analyze exactly how the virus is spreading, and distinguish whether it is from a source within care facilities, or being transferred to the facilities from an outside source in the community.
The methods in the study are similar to ones that have been used for the West Nile virus since 2014, and Ebel's lab is now using three different tests to determine if an individual has the coronavirus.
He hopes this new form of COVID-19 testing will help deter the spread of the pandemic.
"The crisis in test availability was bewildering," Ebel told Source. "A physician in a clinic wants an ironclad diagnosis. We provide something slightly different: rapid information on infection among people who aren't showing symptoms."
This isn't the only effort CSU is making in the fight against the coronavirus — the institution has also been testing the effectiveness of N95 gear.
COVID-19 Testing Site