Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr:105:753-755.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.03.005. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Infection sustained by lineage B.1.1.7 of SARS-CoV-2 is characterised by longer persistence and higher viral RNA loads in nasopharyngeal swabs

Paolo Calistri  1 , Laura Amato  2 , Ilaria Puglia  2 , Francesca Cito  2 , Alessandra Di Giuseppe  2 , Maria Luisa Danzetta  2 , Daniela Morelli  2 , Marco Di Domenico  2 , Marialuigia Caporale  2 , Silvia Scialabba  2 , Ottavio Portanti  2 , Valentina Curini  2 , Fabrizia Perletta  2 , Cesare Cammà  2 , Massimo Ancora  2 , Giovanni Savini  2 , Giacomo Migliorati  2 , Nicola D'Alterio  2 , Alessio Lorusso  2
Affiliations

Infection sustained by lineage B.1.1.7 of SARS-CoV-2 is characterised by longer persistence and higher viral RNA loads in nasopharyngeal swabs

Paolo Calistri et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Following the announcement on December 2020 about the emergence of a new variant (VOC 202012/ 01, B.1.1.7 lineage) in the United Kingdom, a targeted surveillance was put in place in the Abruzzo region (Italy), which allowed detection of 313 persons affected by lineage B.1.1.7, up to the 20th of February 2021. We investigated the results of RT-PCR on nasopharyngeal swabs tested from December 2020 to February 2021 to verify any difference on the viral load and persistence between people infected by lineage B.1.1.7 and others. Statistically significant lower values of CT associated with the detection of the N protein encoding gene (CT N) were observed in persons with lineage B.1.1.7 infection (median CT N = 15.8)in comparison to those infected by other lineages (median CT N = 16.9). A significantly longer duration of the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in nasopharyngeal swabs was observed in persons with lineage B.1.1.7 infection (16 days) in comparison to those infected by other lineages (14 days).

Keywords: Abruzzo; Coronavirus; Italy; SARS-CoV-2; VOC 202012/01; lineage B.1.1.7.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Bal A., Destras G., Gaymard A., Stefic K., Marlet J., Eymieux S. Two-step strategy for the identification of SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern 202012/01 and other variants with spike deletion H69-V70, France, August to December 2020. Euro Surveill. 2021;26(January 3):2100008. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.3.2100008. PMID: 33478625; PMCID: PMC7848679. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cevik M., Tate M., Lloyd O., Maraolo A.E., Schafers J., Ho A. SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV viral load dynamics, duration of viral shedding, and infectiousness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Microbe. 2021;2(January (1)):e13–e22. doi: 10.1016/S2666-5247(20)30172-5. Epub 2020 Nov 19. PMID: 33521734; PMCID: PMC7837230. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dahdouh E., Lázaro-Perona F., Romero-Gómez M.P., Mingorance J., García-Rodriguez J. Ct values from SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic PCR assays should not be used as direct estimates of viral load. J Infect. 2020;S0163–4453(October (20):30675–30677. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.10.017. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33131699; PMCID: PMC7585367. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Danzetta M.L., Amato L., Cito F., Di Giuseppe A., Morelli D., Savini G. SARS-CoV-2 RNA persistence in naso-pharyngeal swabs. Microorganisms. 2020;8(July (8)):1124. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8081124. PMID: 32722621; PMCID: PMC7466010. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Davies N.G., Jarvis C.I., Edmunds W.J., Jewell N.P., Diaz-Ordaz K., Keogh R.H. Increased hazard of death in community-tested cases of SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern 202012/01. medRxiv [Preprint] 2021;(February) doi: 10.1101/2021.02.01.21250959. 2021.02.01.21250959. PMID: 33564794; PMCID: PMC7872389. - DOI