NUCLEIC acid tests for detecting the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in stool samples of some infected patients in Shenzhen have tested positive, which suggests that feces may contain the live virus, the Shenzhen No. 3 People’s Hospital said Saturday.

The discovery implied that it is highly possible for the live virus to exist and spread through contaminated fecal matter and that the virus can probably be transmitted when virus-contaminated fecal matter comes into contact with another creature’s mouth.

According to Liu Yingxia, vice president of the hospital, the hospital’s institute of hepatology found that new coronavirus nucleic acid was detected in the feces of some pneumonia patients infected with the virus.

Researchers at the hospital are currently conducting further research into this revelation by isolating viruses from the stools, according to Liu.

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the virus was also detected in the loose stools of the first patient infected with the virus in the United States.

The hospital reminds citizens to wash their hands frequently and maintain good personal hygiene in addition to wearing face masks.

(Zhang Yu)