Open AccessPersistence of positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction test result for 24 days in a hospitalized asymptomatic carrier
Author(s) -
Uechi Takahiro,
Nakamura Shunsuke,
Takeshita Ryo,
Morino Kyoko,
Mizuno Ren,
Nakagawa Yuki,
Irifukuhama Yuna,
Takada Shiho,
Teruya Hideki,
Mita Naoto,
Nakamori Tomoki,
Kinoshita Hirohisa
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
acute medicine and surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2052-8817
DOI - 10.1002/ams2.525
Subject(s) - asymptomatic , medicine , asymptomatic carrier , reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction , polymerase chain reaction , coronavirus , covid-19 , quarantine , virology , pathology , biology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease , gene , messenger rna , biochemistry
Background Several countries have imposed a mandatory 14‐day period of quarantine on individuals arriving from countries considered high‐risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection. However, it is not clear how long asymptomatic patients infected with SARS‐CoV‐2 can be an asymptomatic carrier. Case Presentation We experienced a case of an asymptomatic female patient infected with SARS‐CoV‐2 with abnormal chest computed tomography findings. She did not develop a fever during hospitalized isolation. She remained reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction‐positive for 24 days. Conclusion An asymptomatic patient diagnosed with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection remained reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction‐positive for 24 days, although she was quarantined in an isolation hospital. This finding suggests that an asymptomatic patient diagnosed with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection with abnormal chest computed tomography findings can be an asymptomatic carrier for more than 3 weeks.