Asymptomatic transmission of the novel coronavirus in Germany was called into doubt on Monday when an article appeared to question the research behind it.
Science magazine published last Thursday. The letter reported that asymptomatic transmission of novel coronavirus occurred in Bavaria, Germany, when several co-workers of an asymptomatic woman traveling from China contracted the virus.
The letter, and several media reports, said that the woman wasn't sick when she was in Germany and only began to feel ill on the plane ride home. Turns out that wasn't quite true.
Researchers who wrote the NEJM letter did not speak to the woman herself, according to Science. But after she spoke to officials from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's public health agency, and Bavarian officials, she said that she "felt tired, suffered from muscle pain," and took fever-lowering medication while in Germany.
While Germany's health agency spokespeople would only confirm that the woman had symptoms, the Robert Koch Institute has submitted a letter to NEJM, presumably to correct the record.
China has claimed to have data showing asymptomatic transmission occurring within the country, but U.S. health officials previously said that they did not have enough data to make that claim. That appeared to change after the publication of the NEJM letter.
Indeed, asymptomatic transmission outside China was alluded to when the U.S. declared a public health emergency for novel coronavirus on Friday. And on Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported "third-generation" transmission of the virus in Germany.
Science said that WHO officials and European partner agencies have been notified with the new information. As of Tuesday, NEJM has not published a letter of correction.