Lavania Mallika, Joshi Madhuri S, Ranshing Sujata S, Potdar Varsha A, Shinde Manohar, Chavan Nutan, Jadhav Santosh M, Sarkale Prasad, Mohandas Sreelekshmy, Sawant Pradeep M, Tikute Sanjaykumar, Padbidri Vikram, Patwardhan Sampada, Kate Rohan
Enteric Viruses Group, ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune, India.
National Influenza Centre, ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune, India.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Mar 15;9:835168. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.835168. eCollection 2022.
The main route of the transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are through respiratory pathways and close contact of human-to-human. While information about other modes of transmission is comparatively less, some published literature supporting the likelihood of a fecal-oral mode of transmission has been accumulating. The diagnosis of SARS-COV-2 infected cases is based on the real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). The fecal excretion of SARS-COV-2 has been reported frequently, however, the role of fecal viral load with the severity of disease is not yet clear. Our study focused on the investigation of SARS-CoV-2 shedding in the fecal samples of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A total of 280 RT-PCR-positive patients were enrolled, among them 15.4% had gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. It was shown that 62% of the patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in fecal specimens. This positivity was not related to the presence of GI symptoms and the severity of disease. The next generation sequencing [NGS] of SARS-CoV-2 from fecal samples of patients was performed to analyze mutational variations. Findings from this study not only emphasized the potential presence of SARS-CoV-2 in feces, but also its continuing mutational changes and its possible role in fecal-oral transmission.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的主要传播途径是通过呼吸道途径以及人与人之间的密切接触。虽然关于其他传播方式的信息相对较少，但一些已发表的文献支持粪口传播方式存在的可能性，且此类文献不断积累。新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）确诊病例的诊断基于实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）。SARS-CoV-2在粪便中的排泄情况已有频繁报道，然而，粪便病毒载量与疾病严重程度之间的关系尚不清楚。我们的研究聚焦于调查2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）患者粪便样本中SARS-CoV-2的脱落情况。共纳入280例RT-PCR阳性患者，其中15.4%有胃肠道（GI）症状。结果显示，62%的患者粪便标本中SARS-CoV-2 RNA呈阳性。这种阳性与GI症状的存在及疾病严重程度无关。对患者粪便样本中的SARS-CoV-2进行了二代测序（NGS）以分析突变变异情况。本研究结果不仅强调了粪便中可能存在SARS-CoV-2，还强调了其持续的突变变化及其在粪口传播中可能发挥的作用。
