Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

SARS-CoV-2 Detection and Culture in Different Biological Specimens from Immunocompetent and Immunosuppressed COVID-19 Patients Infected with Two Different Viral Strains

Maria Cassia Mendes-Correa
*,# ORCID logo ,
Matias Chiarastelli Salomão
# ,
Fabio Ghilardi
,
Tania Regina Tozetto-Mendoza
,
Lucy Santos Vilas Boas
,
Anderson Vicente De Paula
,
Heuder Gustavo Oliveira Paiao
,
Antonio Charlys Da Costa
ORCID logo ,
Fabio Eudes Leal
,
Andrea de Barros Coscelli Ferraz
,
Flavia Cristina Salles
,
Ingra M. Claro
,
Noely Evangelista Ferreira
,
Geovana M. Pereira
,
Almir Ribeiro Junior
,
Wilton Freire
,
Evelyn Patricia Sánchez Espinoza
,
Erika R. Manuli
,
Camila Romano
ORCID logo ,
Jaqueline Goes De Jesus
ORCID logo ,
Ester Cerdeira Sabino
,
Steven Sol Witkin
#
Contributed equally
Version 1 : Received: 23 April 2023 / Approved: 24 April 2023 / Online: 24 April 2023 (03:07:51 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Mendes-Correa, M.C.; Salomão, M.C.; Ghilardi, F.; Tozetto-Mendoza, T.R.; Santos Villas-Boas, L.; de Paula, A.V.; Paiao, H.G.O.; da Costa, A.C.; Leal, F.E.; Ferraz, A.B.C.; Sales, F.C.S.; Claro, I.M.; Ferreira, N.E.; Pereira, G.M.; da Silva, A.R., Jr.; Freire, W.; Espinoza, E.P.S.; Manuli, E.R.; Romano, C.M.; de Jesus, J.G.; Sabino, E.C.; Witkin, S.S. SARS-CoV-2 Detection and Culture in Different Biological Specimens from Immunocompetent and Immunosuppressed COVID-19 Patients Infected with Two Different Viral Strains. Viruses 2023, 15, 1270. Mendes-Correa, M.C.; Salomão, M.C.; Ghilardi, F.; Tozetto-Mendoza, T.R.; Santos Villas-Boas, L.; de Paula, A.V.; Paiao, H.G.O.; da Costa, A.C.; Leal, F.E.; Ferraz, A.B.C.; Sales, F.C.S.; Claro, I.M.; Ferreira, N.E.; Pereira, G.M.; da Silva, A.R., Jr.; Freire, W.; Espinoza, E.P.S.; Manuli, E.R.; Romano, C.M.; de Jesus, J.G.; Sabino, E.C.; Witkin, S.S. SARS-CoV-2 Detection and Culture in Different Biological Specimens from Immunocompetent and Immunosuppressed COVID-19 Patients Infected with Two Different Viral Strains. Viruses 2023, 15, 1270.

Abstract

Introduction- The dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 shedding and replication in humans remain incompletely understood. Methods- We analyzed SARS-CoV-2 shedding from multiple sites in individuals with an acute COVID-19 infection by weekly sampling for five weeks in 98 immunocompetent and 25 immunosuppressed individuals. Samples and culture supernatants were tested by RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 to determine viral clearance rates and in vitro replication. Results- A total of 2447 clinical specimens were evaluated, including 557 nasopharyngeal swabs, 527 saliva samples, 464 urine specimens, 437 anal swabs and 462 blood samples. The SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences at each site were classified as belonging to the B.1.128 (ancestral strain) or Gamma lineage. SARS CoV-2 detection was highest in nasopharyngeal swabs regardless of the virus strain involved or the immune status of infected individuals. The duration of viral shedding varied between clinical specimens and individual patients. Prolonged shedding of potentially infectious virus varied from 10 days up to 191 days, and primarily occurred in immunosuppressed individuals. Virus was isolated in culture from 18 nasal swab or saliva samples collected 10 or more days after onset of disease. Conclusions-Our findings indicate that persistent SARS-CoV-2 shedding may occur in both competent or immunosuppressed individuals, at multiple clinical sites and in a minority of subjects is capable of in vitro replication.

Keywords

SARS CoV 2; infectiousness; cell culture; viral shedding; viral load dynamics; persistence; Covid-19

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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