A woman shed infectious coronavirus particles for at least 70 days without showing symptoms-- study

On average, COVID-19 patients shed infectious virus particles for about eight days. But 70 days after her diagnosis, the elderly patient was still shedding infectious particles. By mid-June, more than 100 days later, the woman was still testing positive — meaning her body still contained traces of the virus' genetic material.

"We think that at least up to day 70, this patient would have been able to spread the virus to others," Vincent Munster, a virologist at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Business Insider. Munster is the lead author of a recent case study about the woman.

Because the patient was quickly isolated in a room, she didn't spread the virus to anyone else.

According to Munster's study, published in the journal Cell earlier this week, the patient's 70-day period of infectiousness is the longest such span ever seen in an asymptomatic coronavirus patient. For comparison, the longest-known span of infectious shedding for a symptomatic person is 61 days, according to an October study.