On March 2, a 71-year-old hospital patient with leukemia tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
On average, COVID-19 patients shed infectious virus particles for about eight days. But 70 days after her diagnosis, the patient was still shedding infectious particles. By mid-June, more than 100 days later, the woman was still testing positive — meaning her body still contained traces of the virus' genetic material.
"We think that at least up to day 70, this patient would have been able to spread the virus to others," Vincent Munster, a virologist at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Business Insider. Munster is the lead author of a recent case study about the woman.
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On average, COVID-19 patients shed infectious virus particles for about eight days. But 70 days after her diagnosis, the patient was still shedding infectious particles. By mid-June, more than 100 days later, the woman was still testing positive — meaning her body still contained traces of the virus' genetic material.
"We think that at least up to day 70, this patient would have been able to spread the virus to others," Vincent Munster, a virologist at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Business Insider. Munster is the lead author of a recent case study about the woman.
A woman shed infectious coronavirus particles for at least 70 days without showing symptoms, a study found
The case study suggests that immunocompromised patients could be infectious longer than previously thought.