SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding and transmission dynamics : implications of WHO COVID-19 discharge guidelines
Abstract
The evolving nature of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has necessitated periodic revisions of COVID-19 patient treatment and discharge guidelines. Since the identification of the first COVID-19 cases in November 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) has played a crucial role in tackling the country-level pandemic preparedness and patient management protocols. Among others, the WHO provided a guideline on the clinical management of COVID-19 patients according to which patients can be released from isolation centers on the 10th day following clinical symptom manifestation, with a minimum of 72 additional hours following the resolution of symptoms. However, emerging direct evidence indicating the possibility of viral shedding 14 days after the onset of symptoms called for evaluation of the current WHO discharge recommendations. In this review article, we carried out comprehensive literature analysis of viral shedding with specific focus on the duration of viral shedding and infectivity in asymptomatic and symptomatic (mild, moderate, and severe forms) COVID-19 patients. Our literature search indicates that even though, there are specific instances where the current protocols may not be applicable ( such as in immune-compromised patients there is no strong evidence to contradict the current WHO discharge criteria.
Citation
Badu , K , Oyebola , K , Zahouli , J Z B , Fagbamigbe , A F , de Souza , D K , Dukhi , N , Amankwaa , E F , Tolba , M F , Sylverken , A A , Mosi , L , Mante , P K , Matoke-Muhia , D & Goonoo , N 2021 , ' SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding and transmission dynamics : implications of WHO COVID-19 discharge guidelines ' , Frontiers in Medicine , vol. 8 , 648660 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.648660
Publication
Frontiers in Medicine
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2296-858XType
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2021 Badu, Oyebola, Zahouli, Fagbamigbe, de Souza, Dukhi, Amankwaa, Tolba, Sylverken, Mosi, Mante, Matoke-Muhia and Goonoo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Description
This work was supported through the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA), a funding, agenda-setting, programme management initiative of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), the African- Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), founding and funding global partners and through a resolution of the summit of African Union Heads of Governments.Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.