Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 Positivity in Immunocompetent Patients: Virus Isolation, Genomic Integrity, and Transmission Risk.

ABSTRACT: Current guidelines for patient isolation in COVID-19 cases recommend a symptom-based approach, averting the use of control real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) testing. However, we hypothesized that patients with persistently positive results by RT-PCR for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could be potentially infectious for a prolonged time, even if immunocompetent and asymptomatic, which would demand a longer social isolation period than presently recommended. To test this hypothesis, 72 samples from 51 mildly symptomatic immunocompetent patients with long-lasting positive rRT-PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 were tested for their infectiousness in cell culture. The serological response of samples from those patients and virus genomic integrity were also ana

SUBMITTER: Leitao IC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8597635 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature