Clinical presentation and virological assessment of hospitalized cases of coronavirus disease 2019 in a travel-associated transmission cluster

Roman Woelfel; Victor Max Corman; Wolfgang Guggemos; Michael Seilmaier; Sabine Zange; Marcel A Mueller; Daniela Niemeyer; Patrick Vollmar; Camilla Rothe; Michael Hoelscher; Tobias Bleicker; Sebastian Bruenink; Julia Schneider; Rosina Ehmann; Katrin Zwirglmaier; Christian Drosten; Clemens Wendtner

Daily measurements of viral load in sputum, pharyngeal swabs, and stool are summarized in Figure 2 . In general, viral RNA concentrations were very high in initial samples. In all patients except one, throat swab RNA concentrations seemed to be already on the decline at the time of first presentation. Sputum RNA concentrations declined more slowly, with a peak during the first week of symptoms in three of eight patients. Stool RNA concentrations were also high. Courses of viral RNA concentration in stool seemed to reflect courses in sputum in many cases (e.g., Figure 2 A, B, C) . In only one case, independent replication in the intestinal tract seemed obvious from the course of stool RNA excretion (Figure 2 D) .