Article
Infectious SARS-CoV-2 Particles from Rectal Swab Samples from COVID-19 Patients in Brazil
Registro en:
RIBEIRO, Ieda Pereira et al. Infectious SARS-CoV-2 Particles from Rectal Swab Samples from COVID-19 Patients in Brazil. Viruses, v. 15, 1152, p. 1-12, May 2023.
1999-4915
10.3390/v15051152
Autor
Ribeiro, Ieda Pereira
Nascimento, Lilian Gonçalves do
Tort, Luis Fernando Lopez
Pereira, Elisa Cavalcante
Menezes, Lidiane Souza Raphael
Malta, Fabio Correia
Oliveira, Barbara Cristina Euzebio Pereira Dias de
Rodrigues, João Paulo
Manso, Pedro Paulo de Abreu
Pelajo, Marcelo
Bonaldo, Myrna Cristina
Silva, Paola Cristina Resende
Siqueira, Marilda Mendonça
Brasil, Patricia
Fumian, Tulio Machado
Resumen
The main objective of this study was to investigate the dynamic of SARS-CoV-2 viral excretion in rectal swab (RS), saliva, and nasopharyngeal swab (NS) samples from symptomatic patients and asymptomatic contacts. In addition, in order to evaluate the replication potential of SARS-CoV-2 in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the excretion of infectious SARS-CoV-2 from feces, we investigated the presence of subgenomic nucleoprotein gene (N) mRNA (sgN) in RS samples and cytopathic effects in Vero cell culture. A prospective cohort study was performed to collect samples from symptomatic patients and contacts in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from May to October 2020. One hundred and seventy-six patients had samples collected at home visits and/or during the follow up, resulting in a total of 1633 RS, saliva, or NS samples. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 130 (73.9%) patients who had at least one sample that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The presence of replicating SARS-CoV-2 in RS samples, measured by the detection of sgN mRNA, was successfully achieved in 19.4% (6/31) of samples, whilst infectious SARS-CoV-2, measured by the generation of cytopathic effects in cell culture, was identified in only one RS sample. Although rare, our results demonstrated the replication capacity of SARS-CoV-2 in the GI tract, and infectious viruses in one RS sample. There is still a gap in the knowledge regarding SARS-CoV-2 fecal–oral transmission. Additional studies are warranted to investigate fecal or wastewater exposure as a risk factor for transmission in human populations.