ABSTRACT Following acute infection, individuals COVID-19 may still shed SARS-CoV-2 RNA. However, limited information is available regarding the active shedding period or whether infectious virus is also shed. Here, we monitored the clinical characteristics and virological features of 38 patients with COVID-19 (long-term carriers) who recovered from the acute disease, but still shed viral RNA for over 3 months. The median carrying history of the long-term carriers was 92 days after the first admission, and the longest carrying history was 118 days. Negative-positive viral RNA-shedding fluctuations were observed. Long-term carriers were mostly elderly people with a history of mild infection. Infectious SARS-CoV-2 was isolated from the sputum, where high level viral RNA was found. All nine full-length genomes of samples obtained in March–April 2020 matched early viral clades circulating in January–February 2020, suggesting that these patients persistently carried SARS-CoV-2 and were not re-infected. IgM and IgG antibodies and neutralizing-antibody profiles were similar between long-term carriers and recovered patients with similar disease courses. In summary, although patients with COVID-19 generated neutralizing antibodies, they may still shed infectious SARS-CoV-2 for over 3 months. These data imply that patients should be monitored after discharge to control future outbreaks.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, prolonged shedding, Transmission risk, long-term carrier, 【초록키워드】 Clinical characteristics, Neutralizing antibodies, antibody, sputum, discharge, Outbreaks, acute infection, Patient, SARS-CoV-2 RNA, Viral RNA, information, disease, Admission, mild infection, Infectious virus, IgM and IgG, Virological, carriers, individual, Neutralizing-antibody, circulating, carrier, courses, viral clade, feature, fluctuation, full-length genome, recovered patient, carried, nine, median, patients with COVID-19, re-infected, 【제목키워드】 coronavirus, Prolonged, acute respiratory syndrome, patients with COVID-19,