Abstract:
We studied the clinical course and virus shedding of all
patients referred to Welikanda Hospital, in one month.
There were 53 positives for COVID-19 by PCR. 24 (45%)
were male, with an age range of 11-94 years. Of these,
41 (77%) were asymptomatic, 9 had cough, 4 had sore
throat and six had fever. Pulse, blood pressure, respiratory
rate and capillary oxygen were normal in all. A proportion
of them had poor prognostic factors: asthma (n=4),
hypertension (n=11), age above 60 years (n=9), and
diabetes (n=11). Lymphopenia was seen in 20 and
elevated CRP in 14. Viral shedding continued beyond 14
days in several persons and continued in symptomatic
patients for a significantly longer time than asymptomatic
patients. COVID-19 was an asymptomatic or mild illness
in this group of people. Several of them continued to be
RT-PCR positive even after 14 days. Such cases are an
important source of community spread
