Two studies in The Lancet reported people who develop more severe pneumonia tend to have, on average, higher viral loads when they are first admitted to the hospital. Right now it is unclear whether the SARS-CoV-2 viral load can tell us who will get severe pneumonia. In the case of the original SARS or influenza, whether a person develops mild symptoms or pneumonia depends not only on how much virus is in their lungs, but also on their immune response and their overall health. But in reality the situation is more complicated. Intuitively it might make sense to say the more virus, the worse the disease. Is a high viral load linked to higher risk of severe pneumonia or death? A high viral load for SARS-CoV2 detected in a patient swab means a large number of coronavirus particles are present in the patient. The viral load reflects how well a virus is replicating in an infected person. For COVID-19, that means how many viral genomes are detected in a nasopharyngeal swab from the patient. The viral load is the amount of a specific virus in a test sample taken from a patient. COVID-19 is clearly very contagious, but this may be because few particles are needed for infection (the infectious dose is low), or because infected people release a lot of virus in their environment. Scientists do not know how many virus particles of SARS-CoV-2 are needed to trigger infection. Depending on the virus, people need to be exposed to as little as 10 virus particles – for example, for influenza viruses – or as many as thousands for other human viruses to get infected. The infectious dose is the amount of virus needed to establish an infection. Two basic virological concepts have gotten a lot of attention recently – the “infectious dose” and the “viral load” of SARS-CoV-2.Īs influenza virologists, these are concepts that we often think about when studying respiratory virus infections and transmission. On social media this week, it took on a life of its own.As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, it has become clear that people need to understand basic facts about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to make informed health care and public policy decisions. It was designed to be an easy-to-understand guideline to help workers stay safe during the pandemic. Lisa Brosseau, a retired professor in the University of Illinois Chicago’s school of public health.īrosseau made the chart after she was asked to head a COVID task force for the American Conference for Governmental Industrial Hygenists - a nonprofit occupational health association. “I worry a lot about people taking the numbers and seeing them as sort of a bright line between when you’re safe and when you’re not safe,” said Dr. (Source: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.) This chart shows how long it could take to transmit an infectious dose of COVID-19 based on what masks, if any, are being worn by both the infected and uninfected person. The doctor who made that table is concerned that people might be reading it the wrong way. (WNCN) - A chart making the rounds this week on social media breaks down how long it takes to catch COVID-19 from an infected person based on what - if any - masks both people are wearing.
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