Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2196-x (2020)
Virological assessment of SARS-CoV-2 identifies evidence for active viral replication in the throat.
COVID-19 is an acute respiratory-tract infection caused by a coronavirus related to that which caused severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Both use a virus receptor predominantly expressed in the lung, and this aspect is thought to have limited the contagion of SARS.
A research group in Germany has analyzed viral RNA production, isolated active virus and followed the seroconversion of nine people with COVID-19 who were known to have contracted the infection from an index case. The individuals presented diverse symptoms including those of a mild upper-respiratory-tract infection. Infectious virus was isolated from throat- and lung derived-samples but not from stool, blood or urine samples; viral clearance did not occur directly after seroconversion. The data suggest active viral replication in the throat as well as the lungs, thus providing direct implications for infection containment.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stower, H. Virological assessment of SARS-CoV-2. Nat Med 26, 465 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0848-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0848-x