On the darkest day in Italy since the outbreak of the epidemic, with 6 infected in Lombardy, more news arrives. The China discovered coronavirus particles in vivo in stool samples. This is indicative of a fecal-oral transmission route for Covid-19, and is probably the cause of the serious failure of quarantine on cruise ships. The spread on the Diamond Princess (another 2 victims yesterday) and other cruise ships has the dynamics of what happens with a gastrointestinal norovirus.
Two immediate consequences in diagnosis and prophylaxis
This evidence brings two new developments, one obvious, the other less so, in terms of diagnosis and prophylaxis of the coronavirus.
First of all, the need to strengthen hygiene measures. It is absolutely necessary to prevent fecal-oral transmission in epidemic areas. These include drinking boiled water, avoiding eating raw foods, implementing separate meal systems, washing hands often, sanitizing toilets, and preventing the contamination of water and food from patient stools.
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Diagnostically, the discovery brings clues to other errors in identifying the disease. According to the latest research from Chinese doctors, rectal swab tests can detect the virus that causes pneumonia in patients even when conventional oral tests are negative .
It is an important paradigm shift, which raises further doubts about how the epidemic has been addressed. Especially in the early stages, it was believed that a patient was negative simply after an oral swab, repeated several times before declaring the absence of virus in the patient. When some of these patients subsequently fell ill, the numbers never came back.
To date, therefore, Covid-19 has been found in oral, rectal and blood swabs. Infected patients can eliminate (and / or spread) the pathogen via respiratory, fecal-oral or body fluids.
Here is the research published in the journal Journal Emerging Microbes & Infections
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