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Volume 26, Number 11—November 2020
Dispatch

SARS-CoV-2 Virus Culture and Subgenomic RNA for Respiratory Specimens from Patients with Mild Coronavirus Disease

Ranawaka A.P.M. Perera, Eugene Tso, Owen T.Y. Tsang, Dominic N.C. Tsang, Kitty Fung, Yonna W.Y. Leung, Alex W.H. Chin, Daniel K.W. Chu, Samuel M.S. Cheng, Leo L.M. Poon, Vivien W.M. Chuang, and Malik PeirisComments to Author 
Author affiliations: The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China (R.A.P.M. Perera, Y.W.Y. Leung, A.W.H. Chin, D.K.W. Chu, S.M.S. Cheng, L.L.M. Poon, M. Peiris); United Christian Hospital, Hong Kong (E. Tso, K. Fung); Centre for Health Protection, Hong Kong (D.N.C. Tsang); Hospital Authority of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (V.W. M. Chuang); Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong (O.T.Y. Tsang)

Main Article

Table 1

Comparison of patients and clinical respiratory specimens that were positive or negative by culture for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and duration of illness for patients with mild coronavirus disease, Hong Kong*

Characteristic Culture positive, n = 16 Culture negative, n = 52 Total, n = 68 Statistical significance
Patients, n = 35
Asymptomatic 1 2 3 ND
Median age (range), y 39 (21–73) 38 (17–75) 38 ND
Concurrent condition
 5
 4
 9
 ND
Clinical specimens
Median log10 viral load/mL†, n = 68
 7.5
 3.8
p<0.0001 by Mann- Whitney test
Viral load log10, range, n = 68
7.0–9.5 12 (75) 5 (10) 17 (25) p = 0.018 by Fisher exact test
6.0–6.99 3 (19) 8 (15) 11 (16)
5.0–5.99 1 (6) 6 (12) 7 (10)
<5.0
 0
 33 (63)
 33 (49)
Days after onset of illness when sample was collected, n = 68
1–2 8 (53) 7 (13) 15 (22) p = 0.00001 by Fisher exact test
3–8 8 (35) 15 (29) 23 (34)
9–67
 0
 30‡ (58)
 30 (44)
Days after onset of illness when sample was collected from patients without or before antiviral treatment, n = 42
1–2 8 (50) 7 (27) 15 (36) p = 0.01 by Fisher exact test
3–8 8 (50) 9 (35) 17 (40)
9–67 0 10 (38) 10 (24)

*Values are no. (%) patients unless indicated otherwise. ND, not determined.
†Viral load below limit of detection for the assay was scored as 1 log10/mL.
‡Six of these patients were readmissions because of detection of virus RNA after discharge from isolation.

Main Article

Page created: July 28, 2020
Page updated: October 19, 2020
Page reviewed: October 19, 2020
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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