Long persistence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 swab positivity in a drowned corpse: a case report

Background: Although since the beginning of the worldwide Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (Sars-Cov-2) diffusion to date, important knowledge has been obtained about the virus behaviour in living subjects and on inanimate surfaces, still there is lack of data on virus persistency on dead bodies and on risk of contagion from cadavers. Case presentation: The present case shows a the persistency of Sars-Cov-2 viral genome in nasopharyngeal swabs performed on a drowned Caucasian man, aged 41, completely asymptomatic when he was alive, up to 41 days after death. Specific realtime reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (TaqMan™ 2019- nCoV Assay Kit v2; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Italy and Realquality RQ-SARS-CoV-2, AB Analytical) were used to evaluate the swabs. Conclusions: This data reflects the importance of post-mortem swabs in all autopsy cases and not only in potential Sars-Cov-2 related death and also highlights the necessity to evaluate virus positivity even after a long time from the moment of death even if a low initial viral load was assessed.