Publisher’s Note: For any Human who may have forgotten, “viruses” are not actually alive, and only “contagious” if you accept “germ theory” as your scientific guide (emphasis on the word “theory.”) Dr. Tom Cowan and Sally Morell’s brand-new book The Contagious Myth, based on their decades and decades of public health work, is the single best accessible and affordable primer to deepening our understanding of viruses as a much-discussed health phenomenon. Don’t miss the SUBtitle.

Meanwhile don’t miss this comprehensive new COVID asymptomatic study out of Wuhan, China, and published by NATURE scientific journal. Thanks to Vermonters Aimee Stephenson (a UVM-trained microbiologist) and Vermont virus hunter Jacqueline Brook for their helpful summary analysis here. The highlight? In summary, the detection rate of asymptomatic positive cases in the post-lockdown Wuhan region was very low (0.303/10,000) and there was no evidence that the identified asymptomatic positive cases were infectious. Download the whole peer-reviewed paper at the link above, or read this summary here.

Great news! Merry December!

The definitive study.

There is no such thing as asymptomatic transmission. 

It’s a complete falsehood.

Almost ten million Humans tested in Wuhan, China – 92% of the total population in a 19 day period.

The results?

Only 300 asymptomatic positives, no viable virus able to be cultured from those 300, thus no “infections,” and all 1,100 or so close contacts of 300 asymptomatic positives all negative results.

PCR conditions per study:

“A cycle threshold value (Ct value) less than 37 was defined as a positive result, and no Ct-value or a Ct-value of 40 or more was defined as a negative result. For Ct-values ranging from 37 to 40, the sample was retested. If the retest result remained less than 40 and the amplification curve had an obvious peak, the sample was classified as positive. Otherwise, it was reported as negative. 

HIGHLIGHT: In summary, the detection rate of asymptomatic positive cases in the post-lockdown Wuhan region was very low (0.303/10,000) and there was no evidence that the identified asymptomatic positive cases were infectious.

These diagnostic criteria were based on China’s official recommendations. 

More Details below:

Post-lockdown SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid screening in nearly ten million residents of Wuhan, China.

Stringent COVID-19 control measures were imposed in Wuhan between January 23 and April 8, 2020. Estimates of the prevalence of infection following the release of restrictions could inform post-lockdown pandemic management. Here, we describe a city-wide SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid screening program between May 14 and June 1, 2020 in Wuhan. 

All city residents aged six years or older were eligible and 9,899,828 (92.9%) participated. 

No new symptomatic cases and 300 asymptomatic cases (detection rate 0.303/10,000, 95% CI 0.270–0.339/10,000) were identified. 

THERE WERE NO POSITIVE TESTS AMONGST 1,174 CLOSE CONTACTS OF ASYMPTOMATIC CASES. 

107 of 34,424 previously recovered COVID-19 patients tested positive again (re-positive rate 0.31%, 95% CI 0.423–0.574%). The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Wuhan was therefore very low five to eight weeks after the end of lockdown. 

A total of 1174 close contacts of the asymptomatic positive cases were traced, and THEY ALL TESTED NEGATIVE for the COVID-19. 

VIRUS CULTURES WERE NEGATIVE for all asymptomatic positive and re-positive cases, indicating no “viable virus” in positive cases detected in this study.

All asymptomatic positive cases, re-positive cases and their close contacts were isolated for at least 2 weeks until the results of nucleic acid testing were negative. None of detected positive cases or their close contacts became symptomatic or newly confirmed with COVID-19 during the isolation period. 

The 300 asymptomatic positive persons aged from 10 to 89 years, included 132 males (0.256/10,000) and 168 females (0.355/10,000). The asymptomatic positive rate was the lowest in children or adolescents aged 17 and below (0.124/10,000), and the highest among the elderly aged 60 years and above (0.442/10,000) (Table 1). The asymptomatic positive rate in females (0.355/10,000) was higher than that in males (0.256/10,000).