Relationship between respiratory viral load of cases of COVID-19 and secondary attack risk in close contacts
10.3760/cma.j.cn112338-20210224-00141
- VernacularTitle:新型冠状病毒肺炎病例呼吸道病毒载量与密切接触者续发风险的关系
- Author:
Shuangsheng WU
1
;
Yang PAN
;
Ying SUN
;
Chunna MA
;
Wei DUAN
;
Li ZHANG
;
Quanyi WANG
;
Xinghuo PANG
Author Information
1. 北京市疾病预防控制中心/北京市预防医学研究中心 100013
- Keywords:
COVID-19;
SARS-CoV-2;
Viral load;
Infectivity;
Close contact
- From:
Chinese Journal of Epidemiology
2021;42(6):1008-1011
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To analyze the relationship between the cycle threshold ( Ct) values of N gene of COVID-19 cases and the secondary attack risk in close contacts, and identify the relationship between respiratory viral load and infectivity in COVID-19 cases. Methods:The COVID-19 cases with records of Ct values of N gene within 0-7 days of onset were selected, and their close contacts were recruited as the subjects of study. We collected the information of close contacts, including name, gender, age, isolation mode, exposure mode and outcome (whether they were infected with SARS-CoV-2 or not) and other variables. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify the relationship between Ct values of N gene of COVID-19 cases and secondary attack risk in close contacts. Results:A total of 1 618 close contacts were recruited, in whom 77 were confirmed as symptomatic or asymptomatic COVID-19 patients with overall secondary attack rate of 4.8%. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that eating together ( OR=2.741, P=0.054), living together ( OR=9.721, P<0.001), non-centralized isolation ( OR=18.437, P<0.001) and COVID-19 case's values of N gene within 0-7 days of onset being <20 ( OR=8.998, P=0.004) or 20-25 ( OR=3.547, P=0.032) were significantly associated with higher likelihood of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 in close contacts. Conclusion:The results indicated that positive relationship exists between respiratory viral load and infectivity in COVID-19 cases, suggesting that Ct values of N gene can be used as an early warning indicator for the management of close contacts of COVID-19 cases.
