Duration of Viable SARS-Cov-2 Shedding from Respiratory Tract: A Systemic Review of Available Literature

Qutub Mohammed,Bahabri Nezar,Alhomsy Mohanna,Alwagdani Meshari,Alnahdi Abdulaziz,Mehdawi Fahtima,Maghrabi Abdullah,Aldabbagh Yasser,Fakeeh Majed

doi:10.23937/2474-3658/1510227

Abstract

In this systemic review we searched databases including Medline and google scholar for research articles published between March 2020 and August 2020. We included case reports, case series, cross sectional, cohort, and randomized control trials that reported duration of shedding of viable SARS-CoV-2 virus. After evaluating the criteria for inclusion 15 articles (2604 patients) were included.

Highlights

IntroductionThe main route for SARS-CoV-2 transmission is by close contact and respiratory droplet allowing high rate of infectivity, which pose a real challenge on health care systems that necessitate the need of contact tracing and testing
The findings showed that 95% of cases did not showed viable virus after day 16 with median of 11
This review indicates for certain that repeat testing SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in patients has no importance in determining infectivity

Summary

Introduction

The main route for SARS-CoV-2 transmission is by close contact and respiratory droplet allowing high rate of infectivity, which pose a real challenge on health care systems that necessitate the need of contact tracing and testing. Real Time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) have become the standard of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis because of its high sensitivity and specificity [5,6,7,8]. The duration of viable viral shedding is important to define in regards for viral transmission in SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this systemic review the aim was to determine viable viral shedding in SARS-CoV-2 infection

Results

Discussion

Conclusion