Association of culturable-virus detection and household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 - California and Tennessee, 2020-2022.
Jessica E BiddleJ Daniel KellyCarlos G GrijalvaGaston BonenfantScott LuKhamal AnglinMiguel Garcia-KnightJesus Pineda-RamirezMelissa Briggs HagenSharon SaydahGlen R AbediSarah A GoldbergMichel TassettoAmethyst ZhangKevin C DonohueMichelle C DavidsonRuth Diaz SanchezManuella DjomaleuSujata MathurJoshua R ShakSteven G DeeksMichael J PelusoCharles Y ChiuYuwei ZhuNatasha B HalasaJames D ChappellAlexandra MellisCarrie ReedRaul AndinoJeffrey N MartinBin ZhouH Keipp TalbotClaire M MidgleyMelissa A RolfesPublished in: The Journal of infectious diseases (2023)
From two SARS-CoV-2 household transmission studies (enrolling April 2020 - January 2022) with rapid enrollment and specimen collection for 14 days, 61% (43/70) of primary cases had culturable-virus detected ≥6 days post-onset. Risk of secondary infection among household contacts tended to be greater when primary cases had culturable-virus detected after onset. Regardless of duration of culturable-virus, most secondary infections [70% (28/40)] had serial intervals <6 days, suggesting early transmission. These data examine viral culture as a proxy for infectiousness, reaffirm the need for rapid control measures after infection and highlight the potential for prolonged infectiousness (≥6 days) in many individuals.