UPDATE 3/11

New Method of Corona Virus Spread is Discovered
vosizneias

The latest research from China shows that the novel coronavirus is also spread by fecal-oral transmission. It is not just spread by the other two methods discussed: respiratory droplets and environmental contact.

It should be noted that in past studies in America – 62% of people have fecal matter on their hands and do not wash their hands adequately.

The article was written by Hong Shan, MD, PhD, of the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, and Sun Yat-sen University, in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, and colleagues.

They noted that the gastrointestinal tract is a welcoming environment for the virus. The virus is also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) CoV-2. “Our immunofluorescent data showed that the ACE2 protein, which has been proved to be a cell receptor for SARS-CoV-2, is abundantly expressed in the glandular cells of gastric, duodenal, and rectal epithelia, supporting the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the host cell,” the team wrote.

Among the key findings of the study are:

A significant portion of coronavirus patients experience diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and/or abdominal discomfort before the onset of respiratory symptoms

Viral RNA is detectable in fecal samples from suspected cases, indicating that the virus sheds into the stool

Viral gastrointestinal infection and potential fecal-oral transmission can last even after viral clearance from the respiratory tract

The study looked at 73 patients hospitalized for possible COVID-19 and tested from February 1 to 14, 2020. Testing included serum, nasopharyngeal, and oropharyngeal swabs, as well as urine, stool, and tissue samples in accordance with China Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

A total of 39 patients (53.4%; 25 males and 14 females), tested positive for fecal SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The age of patients with positive RNA in stool ranged from 10 months to 78 years, and the duration of stool positivity ranged from 1 to 12 days. Furthermore, the stool of 17 patients (23.3%) remained positive even after respiratory samples tested negative.