key: cord-0980931-8zl5q7ti
authors: Li, Na; Wang, Xiao; Lv, Tangfeng
title: Prolonged SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA shedding: Not a rare phenomenon
date: 2020-05-22
journal: J Med Virol
DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25952
sha: 66539d2ad83683975b4c847e934ac2877cba35a9
doc_id: 980931
cord_uid: 8zl5q7ti

A few studies have reported the long shedding of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. However, the duration of RNA shedding in Wuhan is rarely known and the meaning of the prolonged shedding is still under investigation. Almost 10% patients diagnosed of COVID-19 had a RNA shedding longer than 30 days even if the symptom elimination. The IgM was in a high level in the 9th week after symptom onset in these prolonged-RNA-shedding patients. Further study should be conducted to know the infectivity of the virus and the relationship between RNA shedding and antibody expression. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding: Not a rare phenomenon Dear Editor,

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a pandemic globally. 1 As of 18 April, it had infected over 2 million people worldwide. Recently, a study reported that the median duration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding in 113 patients was 17 days from symptom onset in Zhejiang and Shenzhen centers. 2 A recent report by Yang et al 5 described a patient whose clinical course lasted for more than 2 months. However, in our study, prolonged viral RNA shedding even after symptomatic relief was not rare, and the median duration of viral RNA shedding was 53.5 days (IQR 47.75-60.5). The longest duration of viral RNA shedding could be 83 days. We divided the patients into two groups: early-onset group whose symptoms started before 1 February 2020 and late-onset group whose symptoms started 

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1 Variation in IgM and IgG levels of SARS-CoV-2 with time in the 36 prolonged-RNA-shedding patients. SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2