What is the relevance of the fecal–oral route in SARS-CoV-2 transmission?
SARS-CoV-2 infects gastrointestinal ACE2-expressing epithelial cells causing diarrhea in adults and children. It is frequently found in stool samples by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (Figure 2 ). Importantly, replicating SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated from stool. The median duration of the virus in stool samples (22 days, interquartile range 17-31 days) was significantly longer than in respiratory samples (18 days, 13-29 days.27 Thus, fecal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is possible and might contribute to the spreading of COVID-19. 29,30