Nigeria on Wednesday confirmed 543 new coronavirus infections as the country’s case load rose to 38,344.
In a statement via its verified Twitter handle, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said the new cases were reported across 14 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Agency, however, noted that 22 states failed to record new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours.
Lagos the epicentre of the virus lead with 180 new cases, followed by Federal Capital Territory with 86, Kaduna – 56, Edo – 47, Ondo – 37, Kwara – 35, Ogun and Rivers 19 cases each, Kano – 17, while Ebonyi and Enugu recorded 16 cases each.
Other states with new infections include, Delta – 7, Bayelsa – 4, Bauchi – 3 and Abia – 1.
According to the health agency, the country has 15,815 patients discharged with 813 deaths.
-Silent spread of virus keeps scientists grasping for clues
One of the great mysteries of the coronavirus is how quickly it rocketed around the world.
It first flared in central China and, within three months, was on every continent but Antarctica, shutting down daily life for millions. Behind the rapid spread was something that initially caught scientists off guard, baffled health authorities and undermined early containment efforts — the virus could be spread by seemingly healthy people.
As workers return to offices, children prepare to return to schools and those desperate for normalcy again visit malls and restaurants, the emerging science points to a menacing reality: If people who appear healthy can transmit the illness, it may be impossible to contain.
“It can be a killer and then 40 percent of people don’t even know they have it,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute. “We have to get out of the denial mode, because it’s real.”
Researchers have exposed the frightening likelihood of silent spread of the virus by asymptomatic and presymptomatic carriers. But how major a role seemingly healthy people play in swelling the ranks of those infected remains unanswered — and at the top of the scientific agenda.
The small but mighty coronavirus can unlock a human cell, set up shop and mass produce tens of thousands of copies of itself in a single day. Virus levels skyrocket before the first cough, if one ever arrives. And astonishing to scientists, an estimated 4 in 10 infected people don’t ever have symptoms.
“For control, to actually keep the virus from coming back, we’re going to have to deal with this issue,” said Rein Houben, a disease tracker at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The dire toll of more than 580,000 worldwide deaths from the coronavirus has faded to the background as cities lift restrictions. But the slyness of the virus remains on the minds of many scientists, who are watching societies reopen, wondering what happens if silent spreaders aren’t detected until it’s too late.
Travelers with no coughs can slip past airport screens. Workers without fevers won’t be caught by temperature checks. People who don’t feel tired and achy will attend business meetings.
And outbreaks could begin anew.
Elsewhere, as testing efforts have widened, huge proportions of asymptomatic people have shown up, from a neighborhood in San Francisco to an aircraft carrier in the Pacific.
An outbreak linked to a South Korean nightclub showed more than 30% of cases were asymptomatic. At one New York maternity ward, some 88% of those who tested positive had no symptoms.
When Cornwell learned she was positive, her thoughts immediately turned to her pastor, the Rev. Jane Pauw, who had driven her to a Bible study meeting. Pauw lost her sense of taste and smell, came down with a high fever and was out of breath after walking a few steps. Cornwell wondered if she could have been the one to infect Pauw. She alerted her pastor, who made calls to clinics until she found one that would give her a virus test.
It came back with the answer she feared: She was positive, too.
Unanswered Questions
The nose and mouth are convenient entryways for the coronavirus. Once inside, the virus commandeers the cell’s machinery to copy itself, while fending off the body’s immune defenses. Virus levels skyrocket in the upper airway, all without symptoms in the early days of an infection. Many scientists believe that during these days, people can spread virus by talking, breathing, singing or touching surfaces.
In the truly asymptomatic, the immune system wins the battle before they ever feel sick.
As it became clearer that healthy people could spread the virus, U.S. health authorities opted not to wait for scientific certainty. During a meeting in early March, top U.S. health officials said they believed transmission could be occurring before people displayed symptoms, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press. A few weeks later, the CDC recommended people cover their nose and mouth in public with masks, bandannas, even T-shirts.
Days later, Chinese researchers published a paper saying patients are most infectious two to three days before developing symptoms. Evidence continues to accumulate, and the CDC now estimates 40% of transmission is occurring before people feel sick. The agency is telling public health officials in states that rely on mathematical models to use that number in their calculations.
A small Chinese study published May 27 found infected patients without symptoms shed virus, on average, for fewer days than those with symptoms, nine days vs. 15 days. But they do shed virus.
Still, doubts remain among scientists, most notably among the World Health Organization, which has discounted the importance of asymptomatic infection. For months, WHO maintained that asymptomatic spread was not a driver of the pandemic but recently began to acknowledge the possibility and advised people to wear masks.
U.S. health officials blame China for delays in sharing information on silent spread.
That’s no small matter: Gaining scientific clarity earlier would have saved lives.
With AP report
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