August 5, 2020

SARS-CoV-2 Virus Culture and Subgenomic RNA for Respiratory Specimens from Patients with Mild Coronavirus Disease

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

• SARS-CoV-2 viral culture data from patients with predominantly mild COVID-19 (n=35) suggests that patients with mild to moderate illness might be less contagious 8 days after symptom onset. Perera et al. found that 16/68 specimens were positive by viral culture, and that all of the positive specimens came from the first 8 days following symptom onset, although participants continued to have detectable viral RNA by PCR for up to 67 days. They conclude that mildly ill patients who have clinically recovered and are not immunocompromised might be discharged from containment >9 days after symptom onset, as long as they are not being discharged into settings that contain other highly vulnerable people.  

Perera et al. (Aug 4, 2020). SARS-CoV-2 Virus Culture and Subgenomic RNA for Respiratory Specimens from Patients with Mild Coronavirus Disease. Emerging Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2611.203219