In Spain, the isolation period stipulated for patients with a positive diagnosis of mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 is 7 days, however, previously it was marked at 10. Now a study by the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) has found that one of Every 10 patients continue to have significant levels of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in their body, so they could continue to be infectious when, in theory, they would no longer have to keep home isolation.
The research, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, determined the amount of virus and whether it was active in 176 British patients with a positive PCR using a recently adapted test, which, unlike PCR, can detect whether the coronavirus is still there. is active and if the person continues to be infectious.
Results showed that 13% of patients still had clinically relevant levels of virus after 10 days, meaning they could still be infectious. Some of the people with COVID-19 in the research remained contagious for as long as 68 days.
Contagious but without clinical signs of it
“Although this is a relatively small study, our results suggest that potentially active virus can sometimes persist beyond a 10-day period and could pose a potential risk for further transmission. Also, there was nothing clinically noticeable about these people, which means we couldn’t predict who they are,” said Lorna Harries.
This test, which is positive only when the virus is active and transmissible, could be used in settings with vulnerable people, thus preventing the spread of the virus.
The researchers believe that this used test, which is positive only when the virus is active and potentially transmissible, could be used in settings where people are vulnerable, thus preventing the spread of the virus and its consequences on the weakest. Merlin Davies, another of the authors, has given as examples people who return to nursing homes after illness.
“We may need to make sure people in those settings have an active negative virus test to ensure people are no longer infectious. We now want to carry out larger trials to investigate this further,” Davies stresses.
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