SARS-CoV-2 viral load and replication in postmortem pulmonary and extrapulmonary tissues

CEVALLOS, CINTIA; FREIBERGER, ROSA NICOLE; LÓPEZ, CINTHYA ALICIA MARCELA; GUANO TOAQUIZA, ALEX; SVIERCZ, FRANCO A.; JARMOLUK, PATRICIO; DELPINO, M. VICTORIA; QUARLERI, JORGE

Roma

Congreso; 4th Edition of World Congress on INFECTIOUS DISEASES; 2023

Magnus Group

SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in lung (8/15), heart (6/15), liver and kidney (4/15), and smallintestine (4/9). The highest VL level (median values in copies/mL for ORF1ab/N gene) was measured in lung samples (1.5x104 /1.9x104; range: 1.01x102 to 1.14x108) but without significant differences against extrapulmonary tissues (liver: 5.6x102 /1.6x102, heart: 5.5x102 /4.4 x102, kidney: 1.3x103 /9.1x102, and small intestine: 9.4x103 /1.6x102). Median VL measured in tissues from non-hospitalized vs. hospitalized cases was slightly lower (5.5x101 vs. 3.0x103 copies/mL; p=0.1). Infectious SARS-CoV-2 was demonstrated in different tissues (lung: 8/15, heart: 11/15, liver: 4/15; kidney: 3/15; small-intestine: 2/9) but the VL (as RNA copies/mL) was significantly higher (p< 0.05) in the lung (1.4x106) and heart (1.9x106) samples than other tissues.The postmortem presence of infectious SARS-CoV-2 is demonstrated in pulmonary andextrapulmonary tissues even among vaccine-recipient decedents. Autopsies of COVID-19 cases areassociated with a consistent biological risk. These findings support initiatives that make transplants safe by reducing the potential for transmission of SARS-CoV-2.