Science Alert November 5, 2020
An international team of researchers (USA – NIH, Washington University, industry, UK) have observed long-term SARS-CoV-2 shedding up to 70 days, and genomic and subgenomic RNA up to 105 days past initial diagnosis from the upper respiratory tract of a female immunocompromised patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Several weeks after a second convalescent plasma transfusion, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was no longer detected. They observed marked within-host genomic evolution of SARS-CoV-2, with continuous turnover of dominant viral variants. Their data indicate that certain immunocompromised patients may shed infectious virus for longer durations than previously recognized. They recommend the detection of subgenomic RNA in persistently SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals as a proxy for shedding of infectious virus…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
SARS-CoV-2 particles obtained from the woman’s throat swab and cultured in lab-grown cells. Credit: NIAID-RML