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Coronavirus re-infections were found a few days ago in a patient in Hong Kong and two in Europe. This time, scientists informed about a 25-year-old person from the USA who contracted SARS-CoV-2 again. Contrary to the previous three, the course of the disease in this patient is slightly different. However, as the scientists emphasize, “this is a single discovery” and there is currently no “information on the possibility of generalizing this phenomenon”. An article about this appeared on sciencealert.com.
The fourth case of SARS-CoV-2 recontamination in the world
For many months, scientists have been asking themselves whether it is possible to re-contract the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. On Monday, August 24, Hong Kong scientists confirmed this possibility, describing the first such case. Since then, re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 has been confirmed in two more people from Europe (in the Netherlands and Belgium). Now researchers have confirmed the fourth case in the world and the first in the US.
- First confirmed case of coronavirus recurrence
The person who has contracted the coronavirus for the second time is a 25-year-old patient from Nevada. In all three previous cases, the patients either developed a milder form of COVID-19 or had no symptoms the second time, NBC News reported. However, the course of the disease in a young patient from the USA was different – as described by the scientists, the patient had more severe symptoms with the second infection.
Mark Pandori, co-author of the study and director of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory, emphasizes that the Nevada patient case “is a single discovery” and that there is at the moment “no information on the possibility of a generalization of this phenomenon”.
An article describing a coronavirus recurrence case from the US was published on the Social Science Research Network (Repository of reprints and international journal dedicated to the rapid dissemination of scientific research). The work has not been reviewed yet. Scientists submitted an article to the journal “The Lancet”.
“If reinfection is possible in such a short time, it could have consequences for the effectiveness of the vaccines”
The 25-year-old from Nevada tested positive for COVID-19 for the first time in mid-April. This happened after he developed the usual symptoms of the disease, including headache and throat pain, coughing, nausea, and diarrhea. Within 10 days the symptoms resolved. The coronavirus tests carried out twice gave a negative result.
At the end of May, the patient returned to worrying symptoms – fever, headache, dizziness, cough, nausea, diarrhea. Within a week, his condition worsened so much that he had to be hospitalized. The conducted tests showed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in his body (48 days after the first positive test result).
By analyzing the genomes of the coronaviruses from both cases of infection, the researchers found that they were different from each other, meaning there was a mutation. This reassured the researchers that the patient was infected twice (with slightly different versions of the coronavirus) and that there was no question of prolonged infection with one virus.
- The coronavirus affects not only the lungs. It affects all organs
The case from the US may indicate that the initial exposure to the virus did not result in 100%. resistance, the authors of the study wrote. “However, it should be noted that the frequency of such a phenomenon is not determined by a single case study,” they emphasize, adding that it may be a rare case.
“If re-infection is possible in such a short time, it could have consequences for the effectiveness of vaccines designed to control the disease. It could also have an impact on population resistance, “notes Mark Pandori, adding:” We still don’t know how much immunity is in people recovering from COVID-19, or how long it can last. “
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