COVID-19 patients carry virus even after symptoms disappear: Study; 'extension of quarantine period advisable'
The researchers collected samples for the study from the throat swabs of the patients.
The subjects were discharged after their recovery and negative viral status confirmation by two polymerase chain reaction tests.
The patients, with a median age of 35.5 years, were reportedly treated and released from the PLA General Hospital in Beijing between January 28 and February 9
Beijing: The deadly coronavirus has infected over 600,000 people across the world in less than three months of its outbreak, killing more than 27,000 people and putting over 3 billion people worldwide under lockdown.
While the COVID-19 virus does not have a vaccine or a cure yet, symptoms early on can be treated by proper care in isolation. However, time and again research has found that though one might test negative after the stipulated quarantine period with care, there are chances that the virus will lurch on in the host even after the ‘recovery’.
Some researchers, including an Indian-origin person, recently found that around half of the subjects they had treated for a mild form of the coronavirus infection carried the pathogen for at least eight days after the symptoms vanished.
As a result, the researchers suggested an extension of the quarantine period by at least two weeks even after the patient recovers, to be on the safer side, news agency IANS reported.
The study was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The researchers chose 16 patients with COVID-19 symptoms in China. The patients, with a median age of 35.5 years, were reportedly treated and released from the PLA General Hospital in Beijing between January 28 and February 9.
“The most significant finding from our study is that half of the patients kept shedding the virus even after resolution of their symptoms. More severe infections may have even longer shedding times,” Lokesh Sharma, the study co-lead author from Yale University, said.
The researchers collected samples for the study from the throat swabs of the patients. The subjects were discharged after their recovery and negative viral status confirmation by two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
As per the research, the primary symptoms the patients showed were fever, cough, pain in the pharynx and difficulty in breathing; they were treated with different kinds of medications.
“If you had mild respiratory symptoms from COVID-19 and were staying at home so as not to infect people, extend your quarantine for another two weeks after recovery to ensure that you don’t infect other people,” fellow author Lixin Xie from PLA General Hospital said.
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The subjects were discharged after their recovery and negative viral status confirmation by two polymerase chain reaction tests.
The patients, with a median age of 35.5 years, were reportedly treated and released from the PLA General Hospital in Beijing between January 28 and February 9
Beijing: The deadly coronavirus has infected over 600,000 people across the world in less than three months of its outbreak, killing more than 27,000 people and putting over 3 billion people worldwide under lockdown.
While the COVID-19 virus does not have a vaccine or a cure yet, symptoms early on can be treated by proper care in isolation. However, time and again research has found that though one might test negative after the stipulated quarantine period with care, there are chances that the virus will lurch on in the host even after the ‘recovery’.
Some researchers, including an Indian-origin person, recently found that around half of the subjects they had treated for a mild form of the coronavirus infection carried the pathogen for at least eight days after the symptoms vanished.
As a result, the researchers suggested an extension of the quarantine period by at least two weeks even after the patient recovers, to be on the safer side, news agency IANS reported.
The study was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The researchers chose 16 patients with COVID-19 symptoms in China. The patients, with a median age of 35.5 years, were reportedly treated and released from the PLA General Hospital in Beijing between January 28 and February 9.
“The most significant finding from our study is that half of the patients kept shedding the virus even after resolution of their symptoms. More severe infections may have even longer shedding times,” Lokesh Sharma, the study co-lead author from Yale University, said.
The researchers collected samples for the study from the throat swabs of the patients. The subjects were discharged after their recovery and negative viral status confirmation by two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
As per the research, the primary symptoms the patients showed were fever, cough, pain in the pharynx and difficulty in breathing; they were treated with different kinds of medications.
“If you had mild respiratory symptoms from COVID-19 and were staying at home so as not to infect people, extend your quarantine for another two weeks after recovery to ensure that you don’t infect other people,” fellow author Lixin Xie from PLA General Hospital said.
T