Chances of Covid transmission in home quarantine is 4% cases: Study

GUWAHATI: The chances of Covid-19 transmission from asymptomatic patients to their family members while in home quarantine is only about four percent, a study has found.
The team of researchers headed by Dr Gayatri Gogoi, assistant professor of pathology department at Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), is monitoring about 25,000 people under home quarantine and educating them on quarantine rules and also providing psychosocial counselling by experts, offering telemedicine consultations of those with health issues and providing regular ration requirement data and SOS inputs in emergency. To date, about 25,000 population within Kamrup (Metropolitan) have been home quarantined and around 19,000 completed the mandatory period.
The study was conducted by a team of doctors, in collaboration with Assam Police and Pratishruti Cancer and Palliative Trust in greater Guwahati over the last two months has confirmed that under home quarantine.
“We found it is safer for Covid-positive persons, both asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic, to be home quarantined. The chances of spread of the novel coronavirus are very low from the asymptomatic patients. In only 4.06% cases (5 cases during the study), there was evidence of transmission to family members," Gogoi told TOI on Saturday.
Till compilation of the data for the study, 123 of the 25,000 quarantined people turned positive in greater Guwahati areas.
Lead researcher Gogoi said 101 of the 123 cases were asymptomatic, while only 22 were symptomatic. They found that 81% positive cases detected among those who were put under home quarantine, were in the 20-50 years age group. The authors of the research paper are Dhemaji SP Dr Dhananjay Ghanwat, Dr Faujia S Hakkim and Dr Siddhartha Sarma from Pratishruti Cancer and Palliative Trust Dibrugarh, Dr Jina Bhattacharyya from clinical haematology department of Gauhati Medical College and Dr Sukonya Gogoi of AMCH.
Once, the World Health Organization said asymptomatic people don’t transmit the virus, but it later changed the stand. “When we detailed the household conditions of some families where the infection had spread within, we found that their common factor was common toilets for all members. The nature of transmission of the families suggest a strong possibility of transmission through use of common toilets. Three studies have cultured SARS-CoV-2 from stool specimens,” Gogoi said.
After analysing data from special quarantine facilities of CISF, BSF and ITBP, they came to a conclusion that it strongly indicates a common source such as toilets, irrespective of their symptomatic or asymptomatic clinical condition, has resulted in the spread of the virus.
“Educating people about the quarantine rules (maintaining distancing within homes), safe hygiene practices and monitoring of home quarantined populations to ensure containment of the virus spread is a critical aspect. Very low infection rate in our study could be linked to 82% asymptomatic cases, education of home quarantine rules and strict monitoring by voluntary agencies on the job,” added Gogoi.
Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who included the innovative model of monitoring with civil society organisations involving about 300 volunteers, are offering their services to carry out the monitoring on a completely honorary basis. Barun Purkayastha, DCP (Crime) at Guwahati police commissionerate, who is the nodal officer of Assam Police, said, “This model of work is extraordinary, we are grateful to Pratishruti who have been giving us a big support in home quarantines monitoring."