Abstract
We analysed consecutive RT-qPCR results of 537 symptomatic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in home quarantine. Respectively 2, 3, and 4 weeks after symptom onset, 50%, 25% and 10% of patients had detectable RNA from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). In patients with mild COVID-19, RNA detection is likely to outlast currently known periods of infectiousness by far and fixed time periods seem more appropriate in determining the length of home isolation than laboratory-based approaches.
Keywords:
COVID-19 diagnostic testing; patient isolation; survival analysis.
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Aged
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Aged, 80 and over
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Betacoronavirus / genetics*
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Betacoronavirus / isolation & purification
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COVID-19
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Coronavirus / genetics*
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Coronavirus / isolation & purification
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Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis*
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Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology
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Coronavirus Infections / virology
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Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
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Germany / epidemiology
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Humans
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Middle Aged
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Pandemics*
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Patient Isolation
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Pneumonia, Viral* / diagnosis
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Pneumonia, Viral* / epidemiology
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Pneumonia, Viral* / virology
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Quarantine
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RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / genetics*
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Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
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SARS-CoV-2
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Survival Analysis
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Time Factors
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Viral Nonstructural Proteins / genetics*
Substances
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Viral Nonstructural Proteins
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Coronavirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
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NSP12 protein, SARS-CoV-2
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RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase