WHO Clarifies Confusion about Asymptomatic Spread of the Coronavirus

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization clarified the controversy surrounding the asymptomatic transmission of the coronavirus. The WHO explained that their position on this matter is that asymptomatic transmission is still unknown.

Whether people without symptoms of the coronavirus are spreading it or not, WHO says it is still undiscovered.

The Monday press briefing of the WHO sparked a scientific debate

This clarification sprouted from a comment by a WHO official in a press conference on Monday. The head of the WHO's emerging disease and zoonosis unit, Maria Van Kerkhove, said that the asymptomatic spread is "very rare."

The scientific community debated over the matter and even caused critics to question the organization.

In an interview with Dr. Vin Gupta of NBC News, he said that it is an irresponsible statement. A professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, Eric Topol, described the statement of WHO as a mess. Topol said, "I don't know why they would say (the) asymptomatic transmission is very rare when the truth is we simply don't know how frequent it is."

WHO backtracked asymptomatic spread of coronavirus on Tuesday

The WHO conducts press briefings regarding COVID-19 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; however, because of the confusion on the asymptomatic spread, a special news conference was held on Tuesday. That is less than 24 hours after the press conference held on Monday.

Kerkhove says that the controversy is a "misunderstanding."

She said, "I wasn't stating a policy of WHO or anything like that." She further explained that she was only answering a question from a journalist when she said the asymptomatic transmission was "very rare."

The head of emergency programs for WHO, Mike Ryan, said that Kerkhove's response does not intend to communicate a new or different policy.

WHO officials also noted that there are studies which suggested that 41 percent of transmission may be caused or brought by people who are not exhibiting any symptoms.

Organizations comment on the controversy

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement on Tuesday. It says that there are two groups of people that can be contagious even without symptoms. These are the asymptomatics who never develop any symptoms and the presymptomatic who develop symptoms along the way.

CDC added that it is still impossible to know which group they are in, but it is something the CDC works on learning every day.

CDC also emphasized that there are people who do not have symptoms, yet they can spread the virus.

Another institution, the Harvard Global Health Institute, shared their views regarding the asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus. The group said that "All of the best evidence suggests that people without symptoms can and do readily spread SARS-CoV2."

SARS-CoV2 is the virus that causes the novel coronavirus.

Although many controversies are being discussed regarding COVID-19, health experts are still pushing the public to be careful. Wearing masks, washing hands, and keeping a safe distance away from people in public places are always the best ways to avoid further spread of the coronavirus.