Traces of COVID-19 was detected in the saliva of 11 of 12 patients
infected with the virus, suggesting that saliva may be a “promising,
noninvasive specimen” for the diagnosis, monitoring and infection
control of the virus, according to a study published in
Clinical Infectious Diseases.
“Saliva specimens can be provided easily by asking patients to spit
into a sterile bottle. Since no invasive procedures are required, the
collection of saliva can greatly minimize the chance of exposing
healthcare workers to 2019-nCoV,”
Kelvin Kai-Wang To, clinical
associate professor at the University of Hong Kong’s department of
microbiology, and colleagues wrote. “We have tested 2019-nCoV in saliva
from patients with suspected 2019-nCoV infection based on clinical and
epidemiological criteria as outlined by the Centre for Health Protection
of Hong Kong. Here, we report the results of the saliva testing.”
To and colleagues collected saliva a median of 2 days (range, 0-7
days) after hospitalization from 12 patients in Hong Kong with
lab-confirmed COVID-19. Samples were collected by asking patients to
cough out saliva from their throat into a sterile container, with 2 mL
of a viral transport medium added to the sample. They conducted a viral
culture of each sample. Virus-induced cytopathic effects were then
studied daily for up to 7 days.
Patients examined were aged from 37 to 75 years, with a median age of
62.5 years. There were five female and seven male patients.
Traces of COVID-19 was detected in the saliva of 11 of 12 patients
infected with the virus, suggesting that saliva may be a “promising,
noninvasive specimen” for the diagnosis, monitoring and infection
control of the virus.
COVID-19 was detected in the saliva of 11 of 12 (91.7%) of the
patients, and viral loads were highest in the earliest specimens for
five (83.3%) of the patients.
“The
presence of 2019-nCoV
in patients’ saliva suggests the possibility of salivary gland
infection,” the researchers wrote. “However, it should be noted that
saliva specimens not only contain saliva secreted from major or minor
salivary glands but also contain secretions coming down from the
nasopharynx or coming up from the lung via the action of cilia lining
the airway. Further studies are required to delineate the sources of
2019-nCoV in saliva.” –
by Eamon Dreisbach
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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