SARS-CoV-2 Total and Subgenomic RNA Viral Load in Hospitalized Patients.

ABSTRACT: Understanding viral load in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 is critical to epidemiology and infection control. Previous studies have demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected for many weeks after symptom onset. The clinical significance of this finding is unclear and, in most patients, likely does not represent active infection. There are, however, patients who shed infectious virus for weeks. Detection of subgenomic RNA transcripts expressed by SARS-CoV-2 has been proposed to represent productive infection and may be a tractable marker for monitoring infectivity. Here, we use RT-PCR to quantify total and subgenomic nucleocapsid (N) and envelope (E) transcripts in 190 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples collected on hospital admission. We relate these findings to duration of symptoms. We

SUBMITTER: Dimcheff DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7941648 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature