What is the duration of viral shedding?
In 248 COVİD-19 patients, the estimated median time from symptom onset
to viral clearance in the nasal swabs was 11 days, while in asymptomatic
cases it was 2 days.254 In patients that recovered,
the median duration of viral shedding was ⁓20 days, while in
non-survivors it was detected until death. The longest duration of viral
shedding in survivors was 37 days.95 In addition,
non-SARS-CoVs have been shown to be carried in the human respiratory
tract without any current infection;255 this type of
carrier may serve as a silent reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, thus contributing
to its transmission. Cai et al. analyzed the clinical
characteristics of 298 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and found that a
slow viral clearance is associated with an increased risk of high
disease severity with a 1% mortality rate.256