Presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Transmission in a Skilled Nursing Facility

Arons, Melissa M.; Hatfield, Kelly M.; Reddy, Sujan C.; Kimball, Anne; James, Allison; Jacobs, Jesica R.; Taylor, Joanne; Spicer, Kevin; Bardossy, Ana C.; Oakley, Lisa P.; Tanwar, Sukarma; Dyal, Jonathan W.; Harney, Josh; Chisty, Zeshan; Bell, Jeneita M.; Methner, Mark; Paul, Prabasaj; Carlson, Christina M.; McLaughlin, Heather P.; Thornburg, Natalie; Tong, Suxiang; Tamin, Azaibi; Tao, Ying; Uehara, Anna; Harcourt, Jennifer; Clark, Shauna; Brostrom-Smith, Claire; Page, Libby C.; Kay, Meagan; Lewis, James; Montgomery, Patty; Stone, Nimalie D.; Clark, Thomas A.; Honein, Margaret A.; Duchin, Jeffrey S.; Jernigan, John A.

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can spread rapidly within skilled nursing facilities. After identification of a case of Covid-19 in a skilled nursing facility, we assessed transmission and evaluated the adequacy of symptom-based screening to identify infections in residents. METHODS: We conducted two serial point-prevalence surveys, 1 week apart, in which assenting residents of the facility underwent nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal testing for SARS-CoV-2, including real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR), viral culture, and sequencing. Symptoms that had been present during the preceding 14 days were recorded. Asymptomatic residents who tested positive were reassessed 7 days later. Residents with SARS-CoV-2 infection were categorized as symptomatic with typical symptoms (fever, cough, or shortness of breath), symptomatic with only atypical symptoms, presymptomatic, or asymptomatic. RESULTS: Twenty-three days after the first positive test result in a resident at this skilled nursing facility, 57 of 89 residents (64%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Among 76 residents who participated in point-prevalence surveys, 48 (63%) tested positive. Of these 48 residents, 27 (56%) were asymptomatic at the time of testing; 24 subsequently developed symptoms (median time to onset, 4 days). Samples from these 24 presymptomatic residents had a median rRT-PCR cycle threshold value of 23.1, and viable virus was recovered from 17 residents. As of April 3, of the 57 residents with SARS-CoV-2 infection, 11 had been hospitalized (3 in the intensive care unit) and 15 had died (mortality, 26%). Of the 34 residents whose specimens were sequenced, 27 (79%) had sequences that fit into two clusters with a difference of one nucleotide. CONCLUSIONS: Rapid and widespread transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was demonstrated in this skilled nursing facility. More than half of residents with positive test results were asymptomatic at the time of testing and most likely contributed to transmission. Infection-control strategies focused solely on symptomatic residents were not sufficient to prevent transmission after SARS-CoV-2 introduction into this facility.