Coronavirus May Persist 8 Days After Symptoms Disappear

Understanding and treating a new viral strain takes time, and scientists the world over continue to make new discoveries about the novel coronavirus on a daily basis. Now, a new study out of Beijing reveals more about just how much the disease impacts the human body: many patients will still be contagious and house coronavirus in their bodies for up to eight days — even after their individual symptoms disappear.

In all, 16 patients treated for mild coronavirus symptoms at a hospital in Beijing were analyzed for this research. They were treated and released relatively early during the initial outbreak in China (January 28th to February 9th). Their median age was about 36 years old.

Of the 16 patients, half still had coronavirus and were contagious after their outward signs of the virus retreated.

“The most significant finding from our study is that half of the patients kept shedding the virus even after resolution of their symptoms,” says co-lead author Dr. Lokesh Sharma, instructor of medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, in a release. “More severe infections may have even longer shedding times.”

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