April 27, 2024

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New study finds new coronavirus long-term hiding in intestine and feces

New study finds new coronavirus long-term hiding in intestine and feces



 

New study finds new coronavirus long-term hiding in intestine and feces. 

 

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pneumonia in late 2019, a pandemic has formed around the world immediately.

As of now, official statistics show that 500 million people have been infected with the new coronavirus and more than 6 million have died. Extensive experiments have shown that the positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in fecal samples usually lags behind respiratory samples , so there is no fecal sample detection in the existing diagnostic procedures for COVID-19 pneumonia.

 

There have been no reports of fecal-oral transmission of the new coronavirus , which means that transmission is less likely in isolation facilities, hospitals or quarantine settings.

However, potential fecal-oral transmission may increase the risk of spreading the new coronavirus in public places such as hotels, dormitories, trains, and cruise ships.

 

The research article ” Gastrointestinal symptoms and fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 RNA suggest prolonged gastrointestinal infection ” from Stanford University School of Medicine was published online on April 13, 2022 by Med, a new medical journal from Cell Press .

The study found that when SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in respiratory samples from patients with COVID-19s, viral RNA remained in feces for a long time for 7 months , and the presence of viral RNA in feces was associated with patients’ gastrointestinal symptoms.

 

New study finds new coronavirus long-term hiding in intestine and feces

 

For the study, the research team analyzed 113 mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients with symptoms 10 months after their COVID-19 diagnosis, drawing on an early-stage clinical trial testing a treatment for mild COVID-19 infection, launched at Stanford University in May 2020. Evolve, and regularly collect fecal samples, breath samples to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

Many previous studies have focused on testing viral samples from severely ill COVID-19 patients, and this study is the first to assess the presence of viral RNA in stool samples collected from patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 , the researchers said .

 

New study finds new coronavirus long-term hiding in intestine and feces

 

 

The researchers found:

  1. Fecal SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 49.2% of subjects within the first week after diagnosis .
  2. 12.7% of subjects continued to have SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in stool 4 months after diagnosis, but they did not have oropharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RNA at this time.
  3. Fecal SARS-CoV-2 RNA was still detectable in 3.8% of subjects at 7 months after diagnosis, but SARS-CoV-2 RNA was undetectable in the oropharynx of all subjects at 4 months and after diagnosis .
  4. Combining the symptom evolution of the subjects after diagnosis and the detection of fecal SARS-CoV-2 RNA, the researchers found that: the patient’s gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting) and the long-term SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the feces existence related.



New study finds new coronavirus long-term hiding in intestine and feces

 

The COVID-19 virus mainly causes respiratory disease, but this study shows that after clearing the virus from the lungs, the new coronavirus can infect a patient’s gut for weeks or even months.

“This may explain why some patients with COVID experience gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea,” said senior researcher Ami Bhatt, Ph.D., an associate professor of medicine and genetics at Stanford University.

 

Dr. Bhatt was quick to point out that while RNA is the genetic remnant of a coronavirus, it is not a true live virus , so human feces are unlikely to be infectious.

But she believes that the long-standing SARS-CoV-2 virus in the gut does have a potential impact on the disease outcome of patients with COVID-19s.

Because it was found that those patients with SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in their feces had a high probability of developing gastrointestinal symptoms, even if the SARS-CoV-2 virus was no longer detectable in their respiratory tract.

 

At the same time, more research has found hard-to-dissipate viral reservoirs outside the gut .

A research team analyzed tissues collected during autopsy of 44 COVID-19 patients, and found the presence of viral RNA in many parts of the heart, eyes, brain, etc., even on the 230th day after infection. 

 

New study finds new coronavirus long-term hiding in intestine and feces

 

 

Finally, Dr. Bhatt noted, the findings also have implications for public health efforts to predict emerging COVID-19 outbreaks by testing community wastewater for evidence of the virus.

Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, agrees: “If, as they say, about 4% of people with Covid-19 are still shedding viral remnants in their stools after 7 or 8 months, it will make The assessment of infected populations becomes complicated, which is another thing we have to think about and start looking into the future.”

 

 

 

 

 

New study finds new coronavirus long-term hiding in intestine and feces

(source:internet, reference only)


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