Research points to early symptoms driving the potential for contagion.
Although much of the rhetoric surrounding Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic centered around the virus’s ability to spread easily and quickly even in infected individuals who were asymptomatic, there is research to suggest that it’s not necessarily that large portions of people were infected and asymptomatic. Instead, they may just have had symptoms so mild they weren’t easily identified.
Even before the Delta variant became the predominant strain, the World Health Organization noted that asymptomatic spread of the virus was rare and that outbreak mitigation strategies should center around identifying symptoms in those who were infected. Now, with more circulating variant strains and different patient populations, it may be helpful for workplaces to implement early symptom detection resources that could help identify possible sources of infection.
Symptomatic spread matters
According to a systematic review of 94 studies, PLOS One Medicine concluded that based on symptom and testing analysis, a higher proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections resulted from transmission from presymptomatic individuals than from asymptomatic individuals.
Although the review had some limitations – such as the possibility of inaccurate negative tests – the data still showed that overall, only about 20 percent of people who presented asymptomatically with a Covid-19 infection remained that way throughout the infection.
And while there may always be some realm of debate on the danger of asymptomatic spread, the fact remains that the data shows that presymptomatic people are far more likely to spread the virus than asymptomatic people. That warrants a conversation amongst leaders in the workplace to set policies and implement strategies that focus on identifying those early warning symptoms that could signal an impending contagious infection.
Early symptoms could equal higher viral loads
One of the reasons that establishing a process for identifying symptoms early on could be important is that there is some evidence to say that people with more severe symptoms of Covid-19 could also carry higher viral loads, making them potentially more likely to spread the virus at the workplace as well.
For instance, according to an April 2021 peer-reviewed study in PLOS One, the most common early symptoms in infected individuals were cough and fever. Additionally, the study found that higher viral loads were associated with more severe cases of Covid-19, namely hospitalization for pneumonia.
This points to the possibility that individuals who are displaying early symptoms––such as an elevated temperature––could have higher viral loads and could potentially spread it more readily than someone with more mild symptoms and lower viral loads. Thus, taking steps to empower employees in identifying early symptomatic cases may help prevent an outbreak.
What symptoms should you look for?
According to one study in medRxiv, even slight temperature elevations can be an early indicator of infection. The retrospective cohort study by researchers used electronic health records data from 6,176 residents in 133 nursing homes across the United States to compare Covid-19 cases with recorded temperature readings.
They found that a change from baseline temperature of >0.4C preempted 47% of the SARS-CoV-2 positive nursing home residents early and helped detect the cases 42.2 hours earlier than those who were not screened for temperature.
Critically, the effectiveness of early detection of the cases relied on an on-file record of the baseline temperature, as well as the ability to take several readings to calculate a temperature range.
Additionally, the authors of the study mentioned how using automated technology that can track baseline temperatures and detect elevations from the baseline could help identify when testing is needed–potentially even sooner than an individual realizes they are sick and takes voluntary steps for testing.
Using an automated health screening technology like welloStationX can help detect potential infections and support testing decisions by respecting and interpreting individual data. The truth is, while an elevated temperature is an early sign of an infection, the degree of elevation varies in everyone––what constitutes a temperature elevation for one person may not translate to an elevation for another, so establishing a baseline temperature (Wello suggests 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit) and logging temperatures over time to analyze trends and detect when a change is found is critical. Once a change in temperature has been detected based on an individual’s own health data trends, testing may be suggested and appropriate next steps can be determined.
And the result? A safer, healthier, and more efficient workplace for everyone.
