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Coronavirus can live in infected people for weeks longer than first thought

Coronavirus can live in infected people for weeks longer than first thought

Collage of coronavirus in Iran and Italy

People infected with the coronavirus can remain contagious for a lot longer than the two-week-long quarantine period. According to a new study, patients can keep the pathogen in their respiratory tract for as long as 37 days.

An article published in The Lancet medical journal further says doctors in China detected the virus' RNA in survivours for a median of 20 days after they got the infection.

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The findings are being said to have significant implications for decision-making involving patient isolation, and subsequent treatment. The recommended isolation period, currently, after exposure is 14 days to avoid spreading the virus.

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"The shortest observed duration of viral shedding among survivours was eight days, whereas the longest was 37 days," the researchers said.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, people are most likely to spread the virus when they are the sickest. However, there have been reports of some spreading the virus before showing symptoms.

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The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has so far infected more than 1,25,000 people and spread to 118 countries since its outbreak in Wuhan, China at the end of the last year.

A separate study in the New England Journal of Medicine had earlier suggested the coronavirus patients could be infected for up to 24 days before exhibiting actual symptoms. The average time is, however, much shorter — about three days.