Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

August 6, 2020

Clinical Course and Molecular Viral Shedding Among Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Community Treatment Center in the Republic of Korea

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  • Lee et al. examined viral shedding among asymptomatic (36%) and symptomatic (64%) patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection who were isolated in a community treatment center in South Korea (n=303) and found that viral loads did not differ significantly between the groups based on amplification of 3 viral genes (RdRp, N, env). During isolation, the proportion who converted to a negative RT-PCR test result was similar between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients (34% vs. 30% at day 14, 75% vs. 70% at day 21) without a statistically significant difference in time–to–conversion (median 17 days among asymptomatic v. 19.5 days among symptomatic patients, p-value = 0.07). 

Lee et al. (Aug 6, 2020). Clinical Course and Molecular Viral Shedding Among Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Community Treatment Center in the Republic of Korea. JAMA Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.3862