Reply #38: I got it from my daughter [View All]

[Ms. Toad]

when she had no symptoms other than vague stomach discomfort (which could just as easily have been caused by her underlying UC). She passed to me (as near as we can tell) by using my computer to send an e-mail to a professor at the stage when she was not yet symptomatic.

I don't know whether people who generally don't develop a significant viral load become contagious - I know my daughter was not yet coughing to be able to spread it that way, and I also know they are concerned about asymptomatic individuals who are asymptomatic earlier than is typical because of Tamiflu potentially passing on virus that has the capacity to learn to avoid the impact of Tamiflu. The recommendation is to stay isolated for the full 7 days - especially if you have taken Tamiflu - in order to avoid passing it on.

...so - viral load, and the ability to infect, are not necessarily related to symptoms in these two instances (pre-symptoms, and post abbreviated flu because of antiviral medication).