Diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐COV‐2) cases is based on the count of real‐time reverse transcription‐plymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) positive people. Viral load by real‐time RT‐PCR has been suggested as a biomarker of the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. However, the association of viral load and severity of the disease is not yet resolved. Nasopharyngeal samples from 458 patients were tested by RT‐PCR for SARS‐CoV‐2 diagnosis. Relative quantitation was made by the comparative threshold cycle (ΔΔC_t) formula between ORF1ab viral and RNase P housekeeping genes. Absolute viral load was calculate using a reference positive control. Most prevalent clinical signs were cough (75.8%), myalgia (66.7%), and fever (48.5%). Hypertension (18.2%), neurological diseases (15.1%), and asthma and hypothyroidism (12.1%) were most frequent comorbidities. Fever, either as an exclusive symptom or combined with others, was associated with high viral loads ( range, 35.65–155.16; 4.25–4.89 log₁₀ RNA copies/test]). During the first week after onset of symptoms in mild patients up to 60 years‐old was detected the peak of viral load. Children under 10 years old have a high viral load (313.84; 2.50) in the first 2 days postinfection with a sharp decline thereafter. Cases between 10 and 49 years old mostly showed low and moderate viral load during the first 2 days postinfection (range, 0.03 to 17.24; −1.50 to 1.24). Patients over 60 years old have high viral load up to the second week after the onset of symptoms (range, 25.32–155.42; 1.40–2.19), indicating the longer presence of the virus in them. These findings suggest the viral load in nasopharyngeal swabs would help to monitor the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in mild coronavirus disease 2019 cases.

中文翻译：

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轻度感染患者鼻咽样品中SARS-CoV-2 RNA的定量检测

重症急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-COV-2）的诊断基于实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）阳性人群的计数。有人建议通过实时RT-PCR进行病毒载量作为SARS-CoV-2感染的生物标记。但是，病毒载量与疾病严重程度之间的关系尚未解决。通过RT-PCR对458例患者的鼻咽样本进行了SARS-CoV-2诊断。相对定量通过比较阈值循环（ΔΔ制成Ç_吨）ORF1ab病毒和RNase P管家基因之间的公式。使用参考阳性对照计算绝对病毒载量。最普遍的临床体征是咳嗽（75.8％），肌痛（66.7％）和发烧（48.5％）。高血压（18.2％），神经系统疾病（15.1％）以及哮喘和甲状腺功能减退症（12.1％）是最常见的合并症。发烧，无论是排他性症状还是与其他症状并存，都与高病毒载量有关（范围35.65–155.16； 4.25-4.89 log ₁₀RNA拷贝/测试]）。在轻度患者症状发作后的第一周内，检测到60岁以下的病毒载量峰值。10岁以下的儿童在感染后的前两天内病毒载量较高（313.84; 2.50），此后急剧下降。10岁至49岁之间的病例在感染后的前2天大多表现出较低和中等的病毒载量（范围为0.03至17.24； -1.50至1.24）。60岁以上的患者在症状发作后的第二周内病毒载量较高（范围25.32–155.42； 1.40–2.19），表明其中存在的时间更长。这些发现表明，鼻咽拭子中的病毒载量将有助于监测2019年轻度冠状病毒疾病中的SARS-CoV-2感染。