Prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in the saliva of individuals with coronavirus disease 2019: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Saliva is involved in the transmission and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); however, there are conflicting data regarding the detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva. This study aims to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva of individuals with a mild form of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Materials and methods: A sample of 110 participants who showed flu-like symptoms for 3 to 7 days and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after rapid antigen testing of nasopharyngeal swabs were included. Immediately after testing positive for COVID-19, the participants were asked to spit 1.5 mL saliva sample into sterile collectors. Salivary samples were homogenized and diluted, and viral nucleic acid was extracted and amplified by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays (qRT-PCR genes N1 and N2 ). A Ct value