Volume 32, Number 1—January 2026
Research
Enhanced Isolation and Detection of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Patients Undergoing Antiviral Therapy
Figure 8

Figure 8. Infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus detection over time in the upper and lower respiratory tract of hospitalized patients when assayed using Vero E6, Vero E6 T2, and Vero E6 A2T2 cell lines from study on enhanced isolation and detection of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients undergoing antiviral therapy. Viral titers shed after PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were measured by TCID50 assays that used the 3 cell lines. A) Upper respiratory tract viral titers obtained from nasal swab specimens; B) lower respiratory tract titers obtained from endotracheal aspirates. TCID50, 50% tissue culture infectious dose; Vero E6 T2, Vero E6 cells expressing transmembrane protease serine 2; Vero E6 A2T2, Vero E6 cells expressing both transmembrane protease serine 2 and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.