Prolonged (6-Month) Shedding of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus RNA in the Sputum of a Lymphoma Patient

Abstract

During the 2015 Korea Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak, a lymphoma patient developed MERS pneumonia. His pneumonia improved by 45 days after illness onset, but the polymerase chain reaction tests remained (+) for 6 months. However, replication-competent virus was detected by 60 days after illness onset.