Derek E Dimcheff, Christopher N Blair, Yuwei Zhu, James D Chappell, Manjusha Gaglani, Tresa McNeal, Shekhar Ghamande, Jay S Steingrub, Nathan I Shapiro, Abhijit Duggal, Laurence W Busse, Anne E P Frosch, Ithan D Peltan, David N Hager, Michelle N Gong, Matthew C Exline, Akram Khan, Jennifer G Wilson, Nida Qadir, Adit A Ginde, David J Douin, Nicholas M Mohr, Christopher Mallow, Emily T Martin, Nicholas J Johnson, Jonathan D Casey, William B Stubblefield, Kevin W Gibbs, Jennie H Kwon, H Keipp Talbot, Natasha Halasa, Carlos G Grijalva, Adrienne Baughman, Kelsey N Womack, Kimberly W Hart, Sydney A Swan, Diya Surie, Natalie J Thornburg, Meredith L McMorrow, Wesley H Self, Adam S Lauring
BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 genomic and subgenomic RNA levels are frequently used as a correlate of infectiousness. The impact of host factors and SARS-CoV-2 lineage on RNA viral load is unclear. METHODS: Total nucleocapsid (N) and subgenomic N (sgN) RNA levels were measured by RT-qPCR in specimens from 3,204 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 at 21 hospitals. RT-qPCR cycle threshold (Ct) values were used to estimate RNA viral load. The impact of time of sampling, SARS-CoV-2 variant, age, comorbidities, vaccination, and immune status on N and sgN Ct values were evaluated using multiple linear regression...
March 8, 2023: Journal of Infectious Diseases