Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

February 22, 2021

Densely Sampled Viral Trajectories Suggest Longer Duration of Acute Infection with B.1.1.7 Variant Relative to Non-B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2

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[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A longitudinal assessment of SARS-CoV-2 viral loads from a sample of 65 individuals compared the viral dynamics between individuals with the B.1.1.7 variant (n=7) and non-variant strains. Individuals with the B.1.1.7 variant had a mean duration of the proliferation phase (time from first detection to peak viral load) of 5.3 days, a mean duration of the clearance phase (time from peak viral load to lower limit of detection) of 8.0 days, and mean overall duration of infection of 13.3 days. For those infected with non-B.1.1.7 strains, the mean proliferation phase was 2.0 days, the mean clearance phase was 6.2 days, and the mean duration of infection was 8.2. The peak viral concentration was similar between strains. The study did not adjust for comorbidities or other factors that my influence viral dynamics.

Kissler et al. (Feb 19, 2021). Densely Sampled Viral Trajectories Suggest Longer Duration of Acute Infection with B.1.1.7 Variant Relative to Non-B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2. Pre-print downloaded Feb 22 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.16.21251535