Abstract

Background: Bhutan detected its first COVID-19 case on 5^th March 2020 and implemented stringent public health measures. This study aims to describe the viral dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 and its clinical characteristics among the Bhutanese population during the pandemic.

Methods: This retrospective quantitative study included 500 COVID-19 laboratory-confirmed positives from five PCR testing labs from March 2020 to August 2021. The data were extracted from COVID-19 Integrated Influenza Surveillance System. Descriptive statistics and student t-tests were used to analyze the data in STATA version 13.1.

Results: The median detection period from the onset of symptoms to the first RT-PCR positive was 4 days (IQR, 2-12). The median period of virus shedding was 14 days (IQR, 8-27). The median period of virus shedding was longer in symptomatic cases (23 days) than in the asymptomatic cases (11 days). The median Ct value of the RT-PCR assay for 2020 was 31.95 (23.36-35.45), while for 2021 was 21.67 (16.17-29.15).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can be detected for a long duration but the sensitivity of RT-PCR test is high during the early stage of infection.

Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Viral shedding period, RT-PCR, Bhutan Coronavirus