Shortened SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA shedding in saliva during early Omicron compared to wild-type pandemic phase

Eva Kozanli; Angelique M A M Winkel; Alvin X Han; Sharon van den Brink; Annemarie van den Brandt; Milly E Haverkort; Sjoerd Euser; Colin A Russell; Menno D de Jong; Marlies A van Houten; Steven F L van Lelyveld; Dirk Eggink

doi:10.1093/infdis/jiaf031

Shortened SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA shedding in saliva during early Omicron compared to wild-type pandemic phase

J Infect Dis. 2025 Jan 17:jiaf031. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaf031. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Eva Kozanli^{1

2}, Angelique M A M Winkel^{2

3}, Alvin X Han², Sharon van den Brink¹, Annemarie van den Brandt¹, Milly E Haverkort⁴, Sjoerd Euser^{3

5}, Colin A Russell², Menno D de Jong^{1

2}, Marlies A van Houten^{3

6}, Steven F L van Lelyveld^{3

7}, Dirk Eggink^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
² Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
³ Spaarne Gasthuis Academy, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands.
⁴ Department of Infectious Disease Control, Public Health Services Kennemerland, Haarlem, The Netherlands.
⁵ Regional Public Health Laboratory Kennemerland, Haarlem, The Netherlands.
⁶ Department of Paediatrics, Spaarne Gasthuis, Haarlem/Hoofddorp, The Netherlands.
⁷ Department of Internal Medicine, Spaarne Gasthuis Hospital, Haarlem/Hoofddorp, The Netherlands.

PMID: 39823580
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaf031

Abstract

This study compared the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding in saliva between wild-type virus-infected and Omicron-infected household cohorts. Pre-existing immunity in participants likely shortens the viral RNA shedding duration and lowers viral load peaks. Frequent saliva sampling can be a convenient tool to study viral load dynamics.

Keywords: Omicron; SARS-CoV-2; saliva; viral load; viral shedding.

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