Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in post-mortem swabs of subjects who died from SARS-CoV-2 infection. The presence of the virus was evaluated post-mortem from airways of 27 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients at three different time points (T1 2 h; T2 12 h; T3 24 h) by real-time PCR. Detection of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 was performed by Maglumi 2019-nCoV IgM/IgG chemiluminescence assay. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was still detectable in 70.3% of cases within 2 h after death and in 66,6% of cases up to 24 h after death. Our data showed an increase of the viral load in 78,6% of positive individuals 24 h post-mortem (T3) in comparison to that evaluated 2 h after death (T1). Noteworthy, we detected a positive T3 post-mortem swab (24 h after death) from 4 subjects who were negative at T1 (2 h after death). The results of our study may have an important value in the management of deceased subjects not only with a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, but also for unspecified causes and in the absence of clinical documentation or medical assistance.
Highlights
IntroductionThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus detected in December 2019 as the causative agent of a human respiratory infection (coronavirus disease 2019 or SARS-COV-2) in Wuhan, China [1,2,3]
In forensic and pathology scenario, as in case of any other infectious disease, it is crucial to establish whether SARS-CoV-2 is capable to replicate after death of the infected individuals and, thereby, potentially transmit the infection [12]. These data would be essential in order to a) guarantee the safety protection for the examination team, b) counteract the progression of SARS-Cov-2 pandemic and c) improve the knowledge about the molecular mechanisms of SARS-Cov-2 infection. Starting from these considerations, the aim of this study was to investigate the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in post-mortem swabs of subjects who died from COVID-19 infection
Patients with COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia were included in this study, 15 males and 12 females
Summary
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus detected in December 2019 as the causative agent of a human respiratory infection (coronavirus disease 2019 or SARS-COV-2) in Wuhan, China [1,2,3]. Following the spreading of the infection worldwide, The World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a global pandemic [4]. According to WHO reports [5], more than 133 million of global cases have been confirmed, with 2.90 million of deaths. Most recent epidemiological data showed that COVID-19 infection cause mild symptoms or no symptoms in at least 80% of patients [6]. In line with this evidence, several COVID-19
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