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Correspondence
‘Test, test, test’ even after death: persistence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in postmortem nasopharyngeal swabs
  1. Kate El Bouzidi1,
  2. Mark Howard2,
  3. Hiam Ali3,
  4. Mihir Khan2,
  5. Andrew Harris4,5,
  6. Mark Zuckerman1
  1. 1 South London Specialist Virology Centre, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  2. 2 Department of Histopathology, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  3. 3 General Medical Council, London, UK
  4. 4 William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
  5. 5 London Inner South Coroner's Court, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Kate El Bouzidi, South London Specialist Virology Centre, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London SE5 9RS, UK; k.elbouzidi{at}nhs.net

https://doi.org/10.1136/jclinpath-2020-207091

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    Over 57 00 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in the UK.1–3 It is feared that the true figure is higher as there were over 16 000 ‘excess’ deaths between March and June 2020 in which COVID-19 was not a certified cause.1 4–6 Non-COVID causes, possibly related to the lockdown, would have accounted for some of this difference. However, the lack of community testing and challenges of performing autopsies7 mean that many COVID-19 deaths remain undetected.

    Missed infections represent lost opportunities on many levels. Incomplete mortality data underestimate the burden of disease, particularly in high-risk groups who may not seek medical care. Unrecognised COVID-19 deaths have serious public health implications and impede …

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Tahir S Pillay.

    • Contributors All authors collected data. KEB analysed the data. KEB and MZ wrote the first draft. All authors revised and contributed to the final version.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.