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COVID-19 patients could be most infectious in first week after falling sick, HKU study finds

How contagious is the coronavirus
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By Mandy Zuo and Holly Chik

HKU researchers found that the coronavirus could be most contagious in the first week after the carriers show symptoms.

The research, published in The Lancet medical journal on Monday, was based on assessment on saliva samples from 23 COVID-19 patients, aged between 35 and 75, at two hospitals in Hong Kong.

Research findings:

  • The viral load in the patients was highest during the first week of illness, and declined gradually afterwards, which “suggests that the virus can be transmitted from one person to another easily before the patient is hospitalised,” according to Kelvin To Kai-wang, clinical associate professor at HKU’s microbiology department and one of the researchers.
  • The virus tended to be in greater numbers in older patients and could stay in the body for nearly a month.
  • One-third of the patients had viral shedding for 20 days or more.

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