What is the duration of contagiousness after contamination with Covid-19? According to a recent study, more than 10% of people infected with the virus are still contagious 10 days later.
- In France, the duration of isolation can go up to 10 days.
- 13% of people infected with Covid-19 are still likely to transmit the virus 10 days after infection.
To avoid transmitting Covid-19 to other people, French people, vaccinated or not, who have tested positive for coronavirus must isolate themselves for up to ten days. After this quarantine, they are no longer considered contagious. But according to a study published in the journal International Journal of Infectious Diseasesit would be possible for a minority of infected people to transmit Covid-19 even 10 days after the initial infection.
To reach this conclusion, researchers at the University of Exeter, England, analyzed PCR tests, carried out by 176 people with Covid-19, which amplified subgenomic RNA. “Viral load dynamics were then assessed based on symptom onset and last positive test,” can we read in the works.
13% of infected would still be contagious 10 days later
Scientists found that 13% of Covid-19 positive cases still had elevated levels of virus, specifically subgenomic RNA, 10 days after coronavirus contamination. Clearly, after this period, they could still transmit the virus to others. According to the results, some patients were still infectious 68 days after infection.
“Our results suggest that the virus can sometimes be active beyond a period of 10 days, and could pose a potential risk of transmission. In cases where this would pose a serious threat to public health, additional measures could be taken. necessary to reduce the risk of transmission”, concluded the researchers.
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