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Case Reports
. 2020 Feb 24;35(7):e86.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e86.

Viral Load Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in First Two Patients in Korea

Jin Yong Kim #  1 , Jae Hoon Ko #  2 , Yeonjae Kim  3 , Yae Jean Kim  4 , Jeong Min Kim  5 , Yoon Seok Chung  5 , Heui Man Kim  5 , Myung Guk Han  5 , So Yeon Kim  6 , Bum Sik Chin  7
Affiliations
Case Reports

Viral Load Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in First Two Patients in Korea

Jin Yong Kim et al. J Korean Med Sci. .

Abstract

As of February 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak started in China in December 2019 has been spreading in many countries in the world. With the numbers of confirmed cases are increasing, information on the epidemiologic investigation and clinical manifestation have been accumulated. However, data on viral load kinetics in confirmed cases are lacking. Here, we present the viral load kinetics of the first two confirmed patients with mild to moderate illnesses in Korea in whom distinct viral load kinetics are shown. This report suggests that viral load kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 may be different from that of previously reported other coronavirus infections such as SARS-CoV.

Keywords: 2019-nCoV; COVID-19; Coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; Viral Load Kinetics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Viral load kinetics according to the clinical course of the first two SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in Korea. (A) Viral load kinetics and clinical course of Patient 1. (B) Viral load kinetics and clinical course of Patient 2.
URT = upper respiratory tract, LRT = lower respiratory tract, ND = not detected, CXR = chest X-ray, GGO = ground glass opacity, CT = computed tomography, SARS-CoV-2 = severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. a)In Patient 2, the exact fever duration could not be estimated because he had taken non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent to control his myalgia and sore throat before hospitalization. When his physician discontinued the medication, the fever was observed; b)Patient 2 experienced loose stool after taking Lopinavir/ritonavir.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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