Presence of Live SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Feces of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Patients: A Rapid Review

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Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly escalating pandemic that has spread to many parts of the world. The disease has already affected over 6 million individuals, with over 400,000 fatalities. Recent studies have confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids in feces of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients using RT-PCR tests. It is however, still unclear as to whether or not live SARS-CoV-2 virus is actually present in feces of these patients. In this rapid review, we systematically analyzed literature to establish any evidence of live SARS-CoV- 2 virus in fecal samples of COVID-19 patients. We identified 4 studies (one case report, 2 case series and 1 cohort study) where the SARS-CoV-2 was successfully isolated from fecal samples of COVID-19 patients using culture techniques. Therefore, there is some evidence COVID-19 could shed live SARS-CoV-2 virus via the gastro-intestinal tract. Larger studies are needed to corroborate these findings, as well as to determine its potential for disease transmission and infection, and possible implications for COVID-19 discharge and isolation policies.

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  1. SciScore for 10.1101/2020.06.27.20105429: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Literature Search Strategy: A comprehensive and systematic search of literature from November 1, 2019 to June 6th, 2020 was conducted on the Medline (PubMed interface) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to identify studies eligible for inclusion.
    Medline
    suggested: (MEDLINE, RRID:SCR_002185)
    The PubMed function “related articles” was used to extend the search.
    PubMed
    suggested: (PubMed, RRID:SCR_004846)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did …