Case Report: Prolonged Viral Shedding in Six COVID-19 Patients

Alsaud, Arwa E.; Nair, Arun Prabhakaran; Matarneh, Ahmad S.; Sasi, Sreethish; El Hassan, Rania; Khan, Fahmi; Coyle, Peter; Abu Khattab, Mohamed; Mohamed, Mouhand F. H.

COVID-19 has surfaced as a multi-organ disease predominantly affecting the respiratory system. Detection of the viral RNA through reverse transcriptase–PCR (RT-PCR) from a nasopharyngeal or throat sample is the preferred method of diagnosis. Recent evidence has suggested that COVID-19 patients can shed the SARS-CoV-2 for several weeks. Herein, we report six cases of COVID-19 who had persistently positive SARS-CoV-2 on repeat RT-PCR testing reaching up to 9 weeks. The spectrum of cases described ranges from asymptomatic infection to severe COVID-19 pneumonia. A full understanding of the virus’s transmission dynamics needs further research. Prolonged viral shedding currently has unclear implications on the management and isolation decisions—the role of the cycle threshold (Ct) value in guiding therapeutic decisions is yet to be clarified. More data on the relationship between Ct values and viral cultivation are needed, especially in patients with prolonged viral shedding, to understand the virus’s viability and infectivity.