Study on the Viral Shedding Pattern in Respiratory Tract of Patients Infected with Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2
By investigating the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid in nasopharyngeal swab samples collection,this study aims to explore the viral shedding pattern and the influencing factors during the Omicron epidemic period in China,and provides scientific basis to predict the infectivity and disease progression of different types of cases.A total of 1462 nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from 457 SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid positive infections in a certain area from October 7 to October 24,2022.The total viral RNA was extracted,and the Ct value of the samples was determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.The Ct value was considered positive if it was less than 35.Furthermore,comparisons were made among different age groups,genders,and vaccination statuses to assess variations in Ct values.The results showed that the mean of Ct values of and N genes were the lowest during the first week following the initial detection of nucleic acid positivity(ORF1ab:32.36±0.3949;N:31.89±0.3792).However,the mean of Ct value of ORF1ab gene turned negative in the second week following the initial positive nucleic acid detection,while the Ct mean value of N gene turned negative within three weeks after the initial positive nucleic acid detection.The Ct values of ORF1ab and N genes exhibited significant variations cross different age groups(ORF1ab:P=0.011;N∶P=0.0042).Specifically,at week 3,the elderly group demonstrated significantly lower Ct values compared to the young and middle-aged group.At week 4,both the elderly group and young and middle-aged group displayed significantly lower Ct values than the child group.No significant differences in Ct values were observed between different gender groups or vaccination conditions.Therefore,we found that age was the primary determinant influencing the alteration of viral load in patients infected with Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.
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