Factors Associated with Asymptomatic COVID-19 Patients in Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia

Introduction The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) worldwide has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. As of 17 April 2020, Malaysia has recorded 5,251 COVID-19 positive cases with 86 deaths, with the state of Selangor recorded the highest number of confirmed cases (1,338). There is increasing evidence that many patients with COVID-19 are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms. Asymptomatic COVID-19 individuals have still the potential to infect others without ever knowing they are carrying and potentially spreading the virus, which could cause difficulties in COVID-19 prevention and control. Petaling district in Selangor was previously declared as COVID-19 red zone. Hence, this study aims to determine the factors associated with asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in the district of Petaling in Malaysia.

Methods Study design: A cross-sectional study using secondary data • Data of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases notified to the Petaling District Health Office, Selangor, Malaysia between 3 February 2020 and 30 April 2020 was obtained and analysed. • Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Medical Research and Ethics Committee (MREC), Malaysia (NMRR-20-720-54598). • An asymptomatic laboratory-confirmed case is a person infected with COVID-19 who does not develop any symptoms. • Descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 23.0 to determine the factors associated with asymptomatic cases.

Results [Refer to Poster].

Discussion / Conclusion Approximately one-third of COVID-19 patients in Petaling district were asymptomatic and the risk factors identified were younger age, non-Malaysians and local transmission. • Studies have shown that asymptomatic cases were more common in young and middle-aged individuals, suggesting that age and body condition may play an important role in the severity of COVID-19, possibly related to different immune responses and other potential pathogenesis.3 • Rigorous epidemiological investigation and laboratory examinations are helpful in identifying COVID-19 among these group of people who are asymptomatic. • Appropriate strategies, such as social distancing, wearing face masks in public, frequent hand washing should be strongly implemented to prevent disease transmission from asymptomatic individuals.