February 25, 2020

Viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

• The authors report viral dynamics in clinical specimens (throat swabs, sputum, urine, and stool) of 82 COVID-19 patients using N-gene-specific quantitative RT-PCR assay. The findings from viral loads and peak periods of virus in different samples are reported. The timelines when the patients are infectious and when and what type of samples to take for diagnosis are provided.

Pan et al (2020): Lancet Infect Dis 2020 Published Online February 24, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30113-4