Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep;27(9):2323-2332.
doi: 10.3201/eid2709.204577. Epub 2021 Jun 30.

Patterns of Virus Exposure and Presumed Household Transmission among Persons with Coronavirus Disease, United States, January-April 2020

Rachel M Burke, Laura Calderwood, Marie E Killerby, Candace E Ashworth, Abby L Berns, Skyler Brennan, Jonathan M Bressler, Laurel Harduar Morano, Nathaniel M Lewis, Tiffanie M Markus, Suzanne M Newton, Jennifer S Read, Tamara Rissman, Joanne Taylor, Jacqueline E Tate, Claire M Midgley; COVID-19 Case Investigation Form Working Group

Patterns of Virus Exposure and Presumed Household Transmission among Persons with Coronavirus Disease, United States, January-April 2020

Rachel M Burke et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

We characterized common exposures reported by a convenience sample of 202 US patients with coronavirus disease during January-April 2020 and identified factors associated with presumed household transmission. The most commonly reported settings of known exposure were households and healthcare facilities; among case-patients who had known contact with a confirmed case-patient compared with those who did not, healthcare occupations were more common. Among case-patients without known contact, use of public transportation was more common. Within the household, presumed transmission was highest from older (>65 years) index case-patients and from children to parents, independent of index case-patient age. These findings may inform guidance for limiting transmission and emphasize the value of testing to identify community-acquired infections.

Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus disease; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; United States; coronavirus disease; household transmission; respiratory infections; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; zoonoses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Households included in the analysis population for study of presumed household transmission among persons with COVID-19, United States, January–April 2020. CIF, case investigation form; CIF subject, interviewed COVID-19 case-patient; COVID-19, coronavirus disease.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of households with presumed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmission, by household size (including index case-patient), United States, January–April 2020. Shading indicates percentage of households with the specified number of symptomatic household contacts (i.e., excluding index case-patient); households with zero symptomatic contacts (in white) are those in which presumed household transmission did not occur. n = no. households in each stratum.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Symptom status of household contacts, by age group of index coronavirus disease case-patient (n = 192) and age group of household contact (n = 173), United States, January–April 2020. Age group missing for 20 contacts; age of index case-patient missing for 1 contact.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV): situation report—1 [cited 2020 Jul 29]. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/2...
    1. Holshue ML, DeBolt C, Lindquist S, Lofy KH, Wiesman J, Bruce H, et al. ; Washington State 2019-nCoV Case Investigation Team. Washington State 2019-nCoV Case Investigation Team. First case of 2019 novel coronavirus in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:929–36. 10.1056/NEJMoa2001191 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bialek S, Bowen V, Chow N, Curns A, Gierke R, Hall A, et al. ; CDC COVID-19 Response Team. Geographic differences in COVID-19 cases, deaths, and incidence—United States, February 12–April 7, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69:465–71. 10.15585/mmwr.mm6915e4 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. US Department of Justice. 15 Days to slow the spread [cited 2020 Jul 29]. https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/15-days-slow-spread
    1. Kates J, Michaud J, Tolbert J. Stay-at-home orders to fight COVID-19 in the United States: the risks of a scattershot approach [cited 2020 Jul 29]. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-policy-watch/stay-at-home-orders-to-figh...

Publication types