ArticleClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2020
Predicting Infectious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 From Diagnostic Samples.
Article in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 719 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
719 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,194 citations in OpenAlex.
- Serial cycle threshold to assess the infectious potential of SARS-CoV-2: A systematic review.Epidemiology and infection · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 Shedding in Immunocompromised Persons.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2025Pooled it
- Oro-faecal transmission of SARS-CoV-2: A systematic review of studies employing viral culture from gastrointestinal and other potential oro-faecal sources and evidence for transmission to humans.Epidemiology and infection · 2024Pooled it
- Predicting the presence of infectious virus from PCR data: A meta-analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in non-human primates.PLoS pathogens · 2024Pooled it
- Diagnostic accuracy of rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 166,943 suspected COVID-19 patients.Microbiological research · 2022Pooled it
- Assessing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infectivity by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Reviews in medical virology · 2022Pooled it
- Duration of SARS-CoV-2 shedding and infectivity in the working age population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.La Medicina del lavoro · 2022Pooled it
- Photodynamic nasal SARS-CoV-2 decolonization shortens infectivity and influences specific T-Cell responses.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Trial
- Antigen rapid tests, nasopharyngeal PCR and saliva PCR to detect SARS-CoV-2: A prospective comparative clinical trial.PloS one · 2023Trial
- The effect of ivermectin on the viral load and culture viability in early treatment of nonhospitalized patients with mild COVID-19 - a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022Trial
- Portable air cleaners and residential exposure to SARS-CoV-2 aerosols: A real-world study.Indoor air · 2022Trial
- A multimodaliScience · 2026Article
- Mathematical Modeling of Viral RNA Copies in Indoor Environments: Pre-Processor for Risk Assessment and Decision-Making Support Tool for Public Health.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2026Article
- Periodic shifts in viral load increase risk of Hendra virus spillover fromScience advances · 2026Article
- Real-world clinical evaluation of the Inflammatix TriVerity test for sepsis at the emergency department: an Acutelines study.Internal and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Viral Infection-Inspired Autonomous Detection of Fusion-Competent Viruses for Screening and Environmental Surveillance.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Exploring novel kinetics of automated HMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Earlier de-isolation of SARS-CoV-2-infected ICU patients using a novel viability PCR: a prospective cohort study.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Article
- Flexible school attendance strategies for epidemic outbreaks: simulation-based decision support.BMC public health · 2025Article
659 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundReverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has become the primary method to diagnose viral diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). RT-PCR detects RNA, not infectious virus; thus, its ability to determine duration of infectivity of patients is limited. Infectivity is a critical determinant in informing public health guidelines/interventions. Our goal was to determine the relationship between E gene SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values from respiratory samples, symptom onset to test (STT), and infectivity in cell culture.
methodsIn this retrospective cross-sectional study, we took SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR-confirmed positive samples and determined their ability to infect Vero cell lines.
resultsNinety RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2-positive samples were incubated on Vero cells. Twenty-six samples (28.9%) demonstrated viral growth. Median tissue culture infectious dose/mL was 1780 (interquartile range, 282-8511). There was no growth in samples with a Ct > 24 or STT > 8 days. Multivariate logistic regression using positive viral culture as a binary predictor variable, STT, and Ct demonstrated an odds ratio (OR) for positive viral culture of 0.64 (95% confidence interval [CI], .49-.84; P < .001) for every 1-unit increase in Ct. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for Ct vs positive culture was OR, 0.91 (95% CI, .85-.97; P < .001), with 97% specificity obtained at a Ct of > 24.
conclusionsSARS-CoV-2 Vero cell infectivity was only observed for RT-PCR Ct < 24 and STT < 8 days. Infectivity of patients with Ct > 24 and duration of symptoms > 8 days may be low. This information can inform public health policy and guide clinical, infection control, and occupational health decisions. Further studies of larger size are needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.