long shedder

The explanation of viral shedding when it was first mentioned in relation to COVID-19 was that an individual may have no symptoms of the disease and yet be infected, and, while infected, they may shed the virus into the environment.  The cells in the body that host the infection are replicating the virus and releasing it to other parts of the host organism or from the host to their environment. This makes these individuals even more dangerous than those who present as sick, because they move around in the community unaware that they are spreading the disease.  It seems that shedding starts before a person displays symptoms and peaks at or just after the moment when they do show signs of having the disease.

 However over the course of the year the definition of viral shedding was broadened to cover the circumstances in which an individual who has had the disease and recovered can still be shedding viral genetic material (RNA) some weeks afterwards.  There is no fixed time for this. It varies from person to person but for respiratory material it can be up to 80 days. This is described as long shedding. The material that is shed is not necessarily infectious.  Testing to see whether it is or not can take some time. No one is entirely sure why some people fall into the category of long shedders and others don’t.

 Some of the people who are quarantined in the lead-up to the Australia Open have been revealed to be long shedders.  It seems that the testing which has strained their patience has shown the viral material is not alive, not infectious.