SynthesisThe Journal of infection2020
SARS-CoV-2 detection, viral load and infectivity over the course of an infection.
Synthesis in The Journal of infection, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 382 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
382 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 shedding in exhaled material: a systematic review.Epidemiology and infection · 2025Pooled it
- When to test for COVID-19 using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction: a systematic review.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022Pooled it
- Diagnostic accuracy of rapid point-of-care tests for diagnosis of current SARS-CoV-2 infections in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ evidence-based medicine · 2022Pooled it
- SARS-CoV-2 shedding sources in wastewater and implications for wastewater-based epidemiology.Journal of hazardous materials · 2022Pooled it
- The performance of wearable sensors in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review.The Lancet. Digital health · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19 pandemic: the delta variant, T-cell responses, and the efficacy of developing vaccines.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2022Pooled it
- The screening value of RT-LAMP and RT-PCR in the diagnosis of COVID-19: systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of virological methods · 2022Pooled it
- Comparing the diagnostic accuracy of rapid antigen detection tests to real time polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology · 2021Pooled it
- Photodynamic nasal SARS-CoV-2 decolonization shortens infectivity and influences specific T-Cell responses.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Trial
- Trajectory of Viral RNA Load Among Persons With Incident SARS-CoV-2 G614 Infection (Wuhan Strain) in Association With COVID-19 Symptom Onset and Severity.JAMA network open · 2022Trial
- Wastewater Respiratory Virus Surveillance in Remote Community, Alaska, USA, 2022-2024.Emerging infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Diagnostic Accuracy of 2 cm Versus 4 cm Insertion Depth for Nasal Swabs for SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Testing-A Randomized Controlled Trial.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Seasonal Variations in the Occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA Recovered from Wastewater Treatment Facilities (WWTFs) Within South Africa.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Determinants of success and failure of antibody-based strategies against respiratory viruses: insights from RSV and SARS-CoV-2.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Article
- Accuracy of saliva tests for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis during the pandemic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on bispecific antibody treatment in patients with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders.Blood advances · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Limitations of point-of-care testing for low SARS CoV-2 loads: Insights for future pandemics.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025Article
322 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo summarise the evidence on the detection pattern and viral load of SARS-CoV-2 over the course of an infection (including any asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic phase), and the duration of infectivity.
methodsA systematic literature search was undertaken in PubMed, Europe PubMed Central and EMBASE from 30 December 2019 to 12 May 2020.
resultsWe identified 113 studies conducted in 17 countries. The evidence from upper respiratory tract samples suggests that the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 peaks around symptom onset or a few days thereafter, and becomes undetectable about two weeks after symptom onset; however, viral loads from sputum samples may be higher, peak later and persist for longer. There is evidence of prolonged virus detection in stool samples, with unclear clinical significance. No study was found that definitively measured the duration of infectivity; however, patients may not be infectious for the entire duration of virus detection, as the presence of viral ribonucleic acid may not represent transmissible live virus.
conclusionThere is a relatively consistent trajectory of SARS-CoV-2 viral load over the course of COVID-19 from respiratory tract samples, however the duration of infectivity remains uncertain.
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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.