Re-positive coronavirus disease 2019 PCR test: could it be a reinfection?

New Microbes and New Infections

M.M. Al Daajani¹  A.A. Osman²  A.J. Alsahafi³ 

[1] Corresponding author: A.A. Osman, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.;Department of Health Education and Promotion, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia;Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Public Health Agency, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;

关键词: Coronavirus disease 2019;    CT scan;    False-negative;    Low viral load;    RT-qPCR;    Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak started in December 2019 and rapidly spread around the globe as a major health threat. Several reports on re-positive cases subsequent to discharge from hospitals caught our attention. We aimed to highlight RT-qPCR positivity re-detection after discharge from isolation, with special consideration of the possible reasons behind it. We found that re-positive RT-qPCR assays for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 after previous negative results might be attributed to false-negative laboratory results and prolonged viral shedding, rather than to re-infection. These findings are encouraging and should be validated in a larger cohort.

【 授权许可】

Unknown