November 30, 2020

Inference of Active Viral Replication in Cases with Sustained Positive RT-PCRs for SARS-CoV-2. Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): transmission

A study of patients with persistent positive RT-PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 concluded that the presence of subgenomic (SG) viral RNA, which is only found in replicating viruses, might indicate that some patients had actively replicating virus. Samples from 60 individuals who had prolonged viral shedding (24-101 days) since their first RT-PCR test were evaluated. SG RNA was found in 60% of samples 28-79 days after symptom onset. The age of patients from whom the samples were taken varied from 40 to100 years, as did the severity of illness (40% mild, 20% intermediate, and 40% severe). 

Rodríguez-Grande et al. (Nov 25, 2020). Inference of Active Viral Replication in Cases with Sustained Positive RT-PCRs for SARS-CoV-2. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.02277-20