![\"News](\"https:\/\/consumer.healthday.com\/media-library\/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE5OTk4OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMDI0MTE2M30.8hovC1UjA69QUzU_o27zxF_SpLB6fmaOHd0QT4E4Sbo\/image.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
A new study by Italian researchers finds that almost 17% of patients who fully recover from COVID-19<\/a> may still have the virus in follow-up screening.<\/p>\n Those who have ongoing respiratory symptoms, especially sore throat<\/a> and stuffy nose or congestion<\/a> (rhinitis<\/a>), are more likely to have a positive follow-up test, suggesting that these symptoms shouldn’t be discounted in patients who recover from COVID-19<\/a>, the researchers said.<\/p>\n “Clinicians and researchers have focused on the acute phase of COVID-19<\/a>, but continued monitoring after discharge for long-lasting effects is needed,” said researcher Dr. Francesco Landi, from Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic and Catholic University of the Sacred Heart<\/a> in Rome.<\/p>\n For the study, Landi’s team looked at 131 COVID-19<\/a> patients who stopped quarantining at least two weeks before a follow-up visit. Among these patients, nearly 17% tested positive at follow-up, the researchers found.<\/p>\n Although symptoms such as fatigue<\/a> (51%), labored breathing<\/a> (44%) and coughing<\/a> (17%) were still present in some patients, there were no significant differences between people with a positive or negative follow-up test.<\/p>\n There was a significantly higher likelihood of testing positive in patients with persistent sore throat<\/a> (18% versus 4%) and rhinitis<\/a> (27% versus 2%), the researchers found.<\/p>\n The report was published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.<\/em><\/p>\n “Our findings indicate that a noteworthy rate of recovered patients with COVID-19<\/a> could still be asymptomatic carriers of the virus,” Landi said in a journal news release. “The main question for the containment of SARS<\/a>-CoV-2 pandemic infection that still needs to be answered is whether persistent presence of virus fragments means the patient is still contagious<\/a>.<\/p>\n “A positive swab test can reveal if patients are still shedding viral fragments, but it is not able to discern whether they are or aren’t infectious,” Landi added.<\/p>\n The researchers recommend that patients who continue to have symptoms related to COVID-19<\/a> should be cautious and avoid close contact with others, wear a face mask and possibly take additional tests.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n For more on COVID-19, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/a><\/p>\n SOURCE: American Journal of Preventive Medicine<\/em>, news release, Oct. 28, 2020<\/p>\n Steven Reinberg<\/p>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
Copyright \u00a9 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/quiz\/tummy-trouble\/s4.jpg\"\/)