{"id":75457,"date":"2024-08-02T01:00:11","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T01:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicalnewsbulletin.com\/?p=43770"},"modified":"2024-08-02T01:00:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T01:00:11","slug":"some-people-still-infectious-10-days-after-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/some-people-still-infectious-10-days-after-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"Some people still infectious 10 days after COVID"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

A new study from the University of Exeter highlights the association between COVID-19 transmissibility and elapsed time since infection.<\/p>\n

The study suggests that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may still be transmissible 10 days post-infection.1<\/sup> <\/p>\n

Some studies have found that most COVID-19 infection<\/span> transmission occurs within the early stages of illness, or before the onset of symptoms.2,3<\/sup> However, other studies found that extended transmissibility may be observed in severe cases4<\/sup> or immunocompromised individuals.5<\/sup> <\/p>\n

However, this study shows this may not necessarily be the case.<\/p>\n

Researchers used stored samples from 176 individuals that had previously tested positive on a PCR test for COVID-19 between March 17 and November 29, 2020 in the U.K.1<\/sup> These individuals were not immunocompromised.<\/p>\n

Researchers focused on measuring subgenomic RNAs (sgRNA), which are cell components that are produced by SARS-CoV-2 while it makes its viral proteins.<\/p>\n

They looked specifically at the sgRNA derived from the SARS-CoV-2 E-gene \u2013 the envelope gene that codes for protein in the viral membrane and assists with viral assembly. As well, researchers detected the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 E-gene using sequencing.<\/p>\n

Unlike PCR tests, the testing completed in this study gives positive results only if the person\u2019s infection is transmissible.<\/p>\n

PCR positivity signifies that the person has had an infection recently and does not necessarily relate to how transmissible their infection may be.<\/p>\n

The 176 samples showed E-gene SARS-CoV-2 sequences in the genome, while 72 were E-gene sgRNA positive. <\/p>\n

Of those cases analyzed, 74 were asymptomatic, 36 were mild (cough, headache, etc.), 22 were moderate (shortness of breath, oxygen saturation greater than or equal to 94%), 33 severe (oxygen saturation less than or equal to 94%), and 11 critical (respiratory failure). <\/p>\n

Researchers noted that the presence of E-gene sequences of the virus was positively associated with illness severity. <\/p>\n

There was no significant link found between E-gene derived sgRNA and illness severity.<\/p>\n

Individuals can be sg-RNA positive for up to 68 days<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some samples tested sgRNA positive for up to 68 days. 13% of sgRNA positive cases had significant viral levels 10 days post-infection.<\/p>\n

These findings indicate that transmissibility can extend past standard isolation periods.  <\/p>\n

Professor Lorna Harries, who oversaw the study, pointed out, \u201cour results suggest that potentially active virus may sometimes persist beyond a 10 day period, and could pose a potential risk of onward transmission.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, there was nothing clinically remarkable about these people, which means we wouldn\u2019t be able to predict who they are\u201d.6<\/sup> <\/p>\n

Lead author of the study, Merlin Davies, noted that an active viral test may need to be used to \u201cclear\u201d individuals to return to these settings. However, more research using a larger sample needs to be completed. <\/p>\n

References<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Davies, M. et al. (2021). Persistence of clinically relevant levels of SARS-CoV2 envelope gene subgenomic RNAs in non-immunocompromised individuals. International Journal of Infectious Diseases;<\/span> 14:31. Doi: 10.1016\/j.ijid.2021.12.312. <\/li>\n
  2. He, X. et al. (2020). Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19. Nature Medicine; 26: 672-675. Doi: \/10.1038\/s41591-020-0869-5. <\/li>\n
  3. Lauer, L.A. (2020). The Incubation Period of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) From Publicly Reported Confirmed Cases: Estimation and Application. Annals of Internal Medicine. Doi: 10.7326\/M20-0504. <\/li>\n
  4. Van Kampen, J.J.A. et al. (2021). Duration and key determinants of infectious virus shedding in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Nature Communications; 12: 267. <\/li>\n
  5. Aydillo, T. et al. (2020). Shedding of viable SARS-CoV-2 after immunosuppressive therapy for cancer. New England Journal of Medicine; 383: 2586-2588. <\/li>\n
  6. Vennells, L. (2022). One in 10 people may still be infectious for COVID after 10 days, new research indicates. EurekAlert! Accessed 13 Jan. 2022. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/939684. <\/li>\n
  7. Image by Daniel Roberts from Pixabay <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Other topics that may be of interest:<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A new study from the University of Exeter highlights the association between COVID-19 transmissibility and elapsed time since infection. The study suggests that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may still be transmissible 10 days post-infection.1  Some studies have found that most COVID-19 infection transmission occurs within the early stages of illness, or before the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","has-thumb","has-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75457"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}