TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Chinese study on the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) calls for a quarantine longer than 14-days for women, as the virus is likely to lie dormant before triggering the delayed onset of symptoms.
A study published on Wednesday (March 3) in the Preprints with The Lancet explores the role of gender in the transmission of the novel virus, conducted by Renmin hospital of Wuhan University. Wuhan is believed to be where the virus originated.
Based on 6,013 confirmed cases, the research found female patients suffered less damage and had a longer incubation period than men. A possible explanation could be related to women’s inherently stronger antiviral immunity, according to the scientists involved in the study.
The authors suggest that when an individual has the immune strength to fend off the virus for a longer time, it could result in lengthier virus latency. As such, women are more likely to become asymptomatic patients, which increases the risk of them infecting others, wrote The Paper.
The study thus urged governments worldwide to implement differentiated disease control measures, based on gender. Women who have contact with COVID-19 patients should be subject to nucleic acid testing despite not exhibiting symptoms, and be placed in isolation longer than 14-days, said the report.
