Prolonged Viral RNA Shedding Duration in COVID-19

To the Editor: Recently, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), has been spreading rapidly in more than 100 countries, and the outbreak becomes a global public health concern.1,2 It is well known that controlling the source of infection and blocking the route of transmission were most important measurement for this disease.2 The level and duration of SARS-CoV-2 virus replication are important factors in assessing the risk of transmission and guiding decisions regarding isolation of patients. A previous study reports the median duration of viral shedding was 20 days (interquartile range 17–24) in survivors.3 Here, we report a young male patient with the viral RNA shedding duration of 45 days. A 34-year-old man without underlying diseases in Wuhan City suffered from fever (38°C) and myalgia since January 30, 2020. He received orally oseltamivir and moxifloxacin. Five days later, he reported no fever, but myalgia remains persisted and diarrhea emerged. Chest X-ray showed normal, but computed tomography (CT) scan showed multiple ground glass shadows in the right side of lung (Figures 1A–D). Routine blood tests showed leukocyte count of 6.82 3 109/L and lymphocyte count of 1.64 3 109/L. The pharyngeal swabs specimens were obtained for nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 PCR detection. Result was positive.