As per the findings of a cross-sectional study published in "Laryngoscope", the SARS-CoV-2 virus was reported in tears, saliva, and cerumen samples of both asymptomatic and symptomatic people. The viral load was found to be highest in the saliva, followed by tears and cerumen.

Investigators carried out this assessment in 38 individuals suffering from COVID-19. The aim was to explore the presence of the viral genome in saliva, tears, and cerumen as a vital source of coronavirus spread. The recruited subjects had a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result for coronavirus, procured from the combined nasopharyngeal-oropharyngeal swab samples.

Different bodily secretions (tear, cerumen, saliva) were collected within 72 hours of the initial RT-PCR test. In all the samples, N1 and N2 genes were assessed with a single-step RT-PCR. The highest positivity rate was witnessed in saliva, followed by tears and cerumen, as illustrated in the below table:

Also, the viral load was found to be elevated in saliva in comparison with cerumen and tears. No noteworthy differences in viral load were observed between tears and cerumen. Increased SARS-CoV-2 load in combination with the swab samples (nasopharyngeal-oropharyngeal) displayed a greater load of coronavirus in the tears, but not in saliva or cerumen. High nasopharyngeal viral load is linked with an increased viral load in the tears of the same patient.

Furthermore, half of the saliva, tear, and cerumen samples procured from asymptomatic individuals were found to contain the viral genome.