Coronavirus can live up to FIVE WEEKS in patients after they first become ill
Coronavirus can live in patients up to FIVE WEEKS after they first become ill – more than twice as long as the recommended 14-day isolation period
- Researchers collected respiratory samples from patients who were ill in Wuhan – the epicenter of the outbreak
- They found that the virus could live in patients’ airways for up to 37 days
- That is more than twice as long as the mandatory two-week isolation period
- In the US, there are more than 1,300 confirmed cases and 39 people have died
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Patients who are sick with coronavirus can be contagious for up to five weeks after they first become ill, a new study finds.
Researchers from China found that people could live with viruses in their airways for up to 37 days.
That’s 2.5 times longer than the mandatory two-week isolation period that most health care professionals need.
It comes on the heels of the World Health Organization that finally declares that the global outbreak is a pandemic on Wednesday.
In a new study, Chinese researchers collected respiratory samples from patients who were ill in Wuhan – the epicenter of the outbreak. Pictured: A medical staff member speaking to a patient infected with coronavirus at the Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan, March 10
They found that the virus could live in patients’ airways for up to 37 days after they first started showing symptoms. Pictured:
For the study, published in The Lancet, 191 patients from two hospitals in Wuhan – the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak – were examined.
The team used electronic health records to collect demographics and laboratory data.
Researchers discovered the virus’s RNA – which contains the genetic information – in patients’ respiratory samples for an average of 20 days after they first fell ill.
The shortest time someone was contagious was eight days, and the longest time was 37 days.
More than 125,000 people worldwide are infected and more than 4,600 people have died
“Long-term viral secretion forms the basis for a strategy of isolation from infected patients and optimal antiviral interventions in the future,” the authors wrote.
“This has important implications for both decision making on patient isolation and for guiding the duration of antiviral treatment.”
This is the latest in a series of studies that have shown that the virus can survive much longer than previously thought.
A study conducted by the United States government and other scientists found that the virus can survive in the air for three hours and live in surfaces for up to three days.
Tests showed that the virus could survive on copper for four hours, all day on cardboard and up to 72 hours on plastic and steel.
That is more than twice as long as the mandatory two-week isolation period. Pictured: Medical personnel are checking an oronavirus patient at the Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan, March 6
Members of a Servpro cleaning crew wear protective gear when entering the Kirkland Life Care Center, a long-term care facility linked to several confirmed coronavirus cases, March 12
The cleanup crew wore white suits and gas masks for hazardous materials and wore electric washing machines as they entered the facility (left and right)
And a German study found infected patients shed large amounts of the virus before symptoms appear.
This means that when people showed only minor symptoms, such as fatigue or coughing, the virus could still spread easily to others.
More than 125,000 people worldwide are infected and more than 4,600 people have died.
In the U.S., there are more than 1,300 confirmed cases in at least 46 states and DC, and 39 people in five states have died.
At this time yesterday, there were 1,085 confirmed cases and 32 deaths.
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