Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

January 13, 2021

Duration and Key Determinants of Infectious Virus Shedding in Hospitalized Patients with Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19)

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A study of 129 hospitalized individuals who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 by RT-PCR detected infectious virus shedding by viral culture in 23 patients (18%), with infectious virus shedding for a median of 8 days after onset of symptoms. Multivariate analyses identified viral loads above 7 log10 RNA copies/mL as independently associated with isolation of infectious SARS-CoV-2 from the respiratory tract (OR = 14.7). A serum neutralizing antibody titer of at least 1:20 was independently associated with a lack of infectious SARS-CoV-2 shedding (OR = 0.01). 

van Kampen et al. (Dec 11, 2021). Duration and Key Determinants of Infectious Virus Shedding in Hospitalized Patients with Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20568-4