Novel Coronavirus found in Urine and Tears

[kiwibird]

Will search for academic article.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1180418.shtml
snip...

In another breakthrough, Chinese scientists have identified traces of coronavirus in patients' urine, suggesting the virus is capable of traveling with the blood to the human body to harm multiple organs. The virus in urine also poses a challenge to China's sewer system amid the epidemic outbreak.

The latest finding by top epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan's team sheds light on the transmission and prevention of the epidemic, another breakthrough after scientists found isolated novel coronavirus strains from samples of infected patients' feces.

Strains isolated from feces and urine pose a threat to China's sewer system, especially in hospitals, where swarms of patients are admitted. If the patients' feces and urine are not handled properly, it can contaminate the air and transmit through aerosols, Yang Zhanqiu, the deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University warned.

"But we don't have to overreact to it. No need to disinfect the sewage systems in the whole city, as large amount of disinfectant may cause long-term water pollution," Yang told the Global Times Saturday.

Besides feces, the detection of strains in urine possibly means the virus could flow with the blood in the body and harm multiple organs; not only lungs but kidneys and heart, Yang said.

Transmissions through respiratory routes and contact, however, remain the major sources of the novel coronavirus contagion, experts said.

Zhong has stressed the importance of city sewer systems in the fight against the coronavirus, citing the case of Amoy Gardens in Hong Kong during the SARS crisis in 2003.

 

[Emily]

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/acb.2007.058

 

[kiwibird]

Thank you Emily.

 

[Emily]

Here's something about the current virus. Right now it looks like they are not seeing the acute kidney injury they saw with the original SARS virus, but there is some virus found in urine of some cases:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3541116

[h=1]SARS-CoV-2 Infection Does Not Significantly Cause Acute Renal Injury: An Analysis of 116 Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 in a Single Hospital, Wuhan, China[/h]
11 Pages Posted: 24 Feb 2020
[h=2]Luwen Wang[/h] Wuhan University - Department of Infectious Diseases
[h=2]Xun Li[/h] Wuhan University - Department of Laboratory Medicine
[h=2]Hui Chen[/h] Hubei Center for Disease Control and Prevention - Institute of Infectious Diseases
[h=2]Shaonan Yan[/h] Wuhan University - Department of Infectious Diseases
[h=2]Yan Li[/h] Wuhan University - Department of Clinical Laboratory
[h=2]Dong Li[/h] Wuhan University - Department of Laboratory Medicine
[h=2]Zuojiong Gong[/h] Wuhan University - Department of Infectious Diseases

[h=3]Abstract[/h] Background: Whether the patients with COVID-19 infected by SARS-CoV-2 would commonly develop acute renal function damage is a problem worthy of clinical attention. This study aimed to explore the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on renal function through analyzing the clinical data of 116 hospitalized COVID-19-confirmed patients.

Methods: 116 hospitalized COVID-19-confirmed patients enrolled in this study were hospitalized in the Department of Infectious Diseases, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from January 14 to February 13, 2020. The recorded information includes demographic data, medical history, contact history, potential comorbidities, symptoms, signs, laboratory test results, chest computer tomography (CT) scans, and treatment measures. SARS-CoV-2 RNA in 53 urine sediments of enrolled patients was examined by real-time RT-PCR.

Findings: 12 (10.8%) and 8 (7.2%) patients showed mild elevation of blood urea nitrogen or creatinine, and trace or 1+ albuminuria respectively in 111 COVID-19-confirmed patients without basic kidney disease. In addition, 5 patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) were undergone regular continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) were confirmed infection of SARS-CoV-2, and diagnosed as COVID-19. Beside the treatment of COVID-19, CRRT was also applied three times weekly. The course of treatment, the renal function indicators showed stable, without exacerbation of CRF, and pulmonary inflammation was gradually absorbed. All 5 patients with CRF were survived. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 RNA in urine sediments was positive only in 3 patients from 48 cases without renal illness before, and one patient had a positive for SARS-CoV-2 ORF 1ab from 5 cases with CRF.

Interpretation: Acute renal impairment was uncommon in COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 infection does not significantly cause obvious acute renal injury, or aggravate CRF in the COVID-19 patients.

Funding Statement: No funding.

Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.


Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; acute renal injury; chronic renal failure; continuous renal replacement therapy

Suggested Citation:

Wang, Luwen and Li, Xun and Chen, Hui and Yan, Shaonan and Li, Yan and Li, Dong and Gong, Zuojiong, SARS-CoV-2 Infection Does Not Significantly Cause Acute Renal Injury: An Analysis of 116 Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 in a Single Hospital, Wuhan, China (2/17/2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3541116

 

[kiwibird]

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3883037

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Wuhan Coronavirus has been detected in the tears of an infected patient, according to a study by China’s Zhejiang University.

Scientists from the university’s First Affiliated Hospital discovered that an infected individual’s tears and conjunctival secretions tested positive for the virus. The study was first published in the Journal of Medical Virology on Feb. 26.

Led by Shen Ye (沈曄), an ophthalmology professor, the team carried out research on 30 confirmed cases at the hospital between Jan. 26 and Feb. 2. The first six samples collected from the patients tested negative for COVID-19, but the team decided to do further tests.

One of the test subjects was later diagnosed with conjunctivitis in his left eye and samples collected from his tears and conjunctival secretions were found to contain the virus through three nucleic acid tests. Further research will be conducted to find how the virus caused the eye infections, reported CNA.

The findings indicated the coronavirus could be transmitted through eye secretions and as such medical staff were advised to wear goggles to fend off the virus. Earlier research suggests COVID-19 can spread through feces, in addition to contact with infected patients and respiratory droplets, wrote Livescience.