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Published in: BMC Medicine 1/2021

01-12-2021 | SARS-CoV-2 | Research article

A follow-up study shows that recovered patients with re-positive PCR test in Wuhan may not be infectious

Authors: Xiaomin Wu, Zengmiao Wang, Zhenyu He, Yapin Li, Yating Wu, Huaiji Wang, Yonghong Liu, Fanghua Hao, Huaiyu Tian

Published in: BMC Medicine | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Background

Previous studies showed that recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients can have a subsequent positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after they are discharged from the hospital. Understanding the epidemiological characteristics of recovered COVID-19 patients who have a re-positive test is vital for preventing a second wave of COVID-19.

Methods

This retrospective study analyzed the epidemiological and clinical features of 20,280 COVID-19 patients from multiple centers in Wuhan who had a positive PCR test between December 31, 2019, and August 4, 2020. The RT-PCR test results for 4079 individuals who had close contact with the re-positive cases were also obtained.

Results

In total, 2466 (12.16%) of the 20,280 patients had a re-positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test after they were discharged from the hospital, and 4079 individuals had close contact with members of this patient group. All of these 4079 individuals had a negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test.

Conclusions

This retrospective study in Wuhan analyzed the basic characteristics of recovered COVID-19 patients with re-positive PCR test and found that these cases may not be infectious.
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Metadata
Title
A follow-up study shows that recovered patients with re-positive PCR test in Wuhan may not be infectious
Authors
Xiaomin Wu
Zengmiao Wang
Zhenyu He
Yapin Li
Yating Wu
Huaiji Wang
Yonghong Liu
Fanghua Hao
Huaiyu Tian
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Medicine / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1741-7015
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-01954-1

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