Kristian G. AndersenGeverifieerd account

Actually I don’t know anything? @K_G_Andersen do you know? Could be intact genomes (unlikely) with otherwise dead particles for all I know.

Assuming it's a "standard" qRT-PCR with ballpark 150bp product, there are more unknowns than knowns with the detection of it - especially when not followed up further (as I assume)

Negative qPCRs turning positive would suggest active virus - even if at very low level. NHP papers suggest actively replicating virus for a v. long time and from human studies we know that survivors can sometimes be infectious 500 days out. Very difficult question...

Not completely throwing out virus persistence... but *leaning out of window* at the moment nobody could reject the idea of self replicating defective genomes or even host-virus fusion genes, as were found for some viruses, either

Because I would assume a flair up in infections if actual virus was shed, or would expect at least some virus isolations from patients, not just from NHPs. So far we only hear about RNA, but no virus or simply viral proteins

wondering whether immune-privileged site would favour prolonged production/replication of defective genomes that are not cleared by immune system as would happen elsewhere in patient