Genomic Evidence Suggests Viral Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 for 386 Days in Health Worker: A Case Report from Santiago of Chile.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect several countries. One of the best ways to control its spread is the timely identification of infected patients for isolation and quarantine. While an episode of infection lasts an average of 8-10 days from the onset of symptoms, there is literature describing long-lasting viral persistence events. Here, we report a case of persistence of SARS-CoV-2 for 386 days in a health worker from Santiago de Chile. Our study could be one of the longest reported viral persistence events. RNA sequencing analyses indicated that the first positive diagnosis (8 June 2020) corresponded to a SARS-CoV-2 variant belonging to Clade Nextstrain 20A. Three hundred eighty-six days later (23 September 2021), the second positive result reached the same viral variant (Clade 2

SUBMITTER: Acuna-Castillo C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9778366 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature