If yes, how many documented cases are present currently? Any links to verified news articles, reports or research? If medical research personnel, virologists or health workers shed some light on this, it would truly be helpful. Thank you.
To the best of my knowledge there is one such case where Japanese woman infected twice and Japanese Govt. officially declared this. But several infectious disease specialists say there’s not enough data to support that conclusion. Another possibility is that the virus subsided and flared up again. On contrary to that, some experts says this can be happen.
Link for reference: https://www.wired.com/story/did-a-woman-get-coronavirus-twice-scientists-are-skeptical/
There were early reports about reinfected patients in China, Japan, and South Korea1,2,3,4,5. I didn't find follow-up reports about cases in Japan and South Korea but as Vinay Singh mentioned, specialists are skeptical about it. However, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, acting head of the WHO's emerging diseases unit, there's evidence that Chinese patients were not reinfected6. Chinese doctors concluded that "reinfected" patients had the false-negative result of their previous PCR test7.
The pilot study conducted on macaque monkeys showed that monkeys that were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 twice in a row did not contract an infection a second time. Developed antibodies built to target SARS-CoV-2 can protect the monkey from the reexposure to the virus so they can't be reinfected8. The research has limitations and paper is not-yet peer-reviewed but it's useful for future researches and definitely worth reading.
However, there's an alternative point of view and I think it will be widely discussed when there will be more documented evidence.
Reference links:
1 https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-02-26/14-of-recovered-covid-19-patients-in-guangdong-tested-positive-again-101520415.html
2 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3065091/coronavirus-recovered-patient-dies-china-reports-139-new-cases?utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailchimp&utm_campaign=enlz-scmp_china&utm_content=20200305&MCUID=fca1c7c9b4&MCCampaignID=61c8a14bca&MCAccountID=3775521f5f542047246d9c827&tc=5
3 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-japan/japanese-woman-confirmed-as-coronavirus-case-for-2nd-time-weeks-after-initial-recovery-idUSKCN20L0BI
4 https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200315_13/
5 https://www.france24.com/en/20200229-coronavirus-covid-19-epidemic-surges-in-south-korea-as-number-of-cases-exceeds-3-000
6 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3074045/coronavirus-who-official-says-theres-no-evidence-reinfected
7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhEM9s7qy2g
8 Preprint Reinfection could not occur in SARS-CoV-2 infected rhesus macaques
Hi Parth,
I am hereby quoting the official statement from the Govt. of South Korea for your reference wherein a new incidence of relapse of corona virus has been reported from South Korea.
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean officials on Friday reported 91 patients thought cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again.
Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), told a briefing that the virus may have been “reactivated” rather than the patients being re-infected.
Please have a look at the following link:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Is_it_possible_to_catch_COVID-19_twice
In studies published on this aspect of COVID-19 infection, patient detected to have reinfection, however neither had any progression of symptoms, nor did cause infection in their contacts. Therefore, it was considered due to the effect of inactive RNA of SARS-CoV-2.
Further larger studies and follow of such patients with possible reinfection will shed more light on this controversial issue.
Preprint Clinical characteristics of the recovered COVID-19 patients ...
Preprint Recurrence of Positive SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA in Recovered COV...
Please have a look at the link below:
Article Positive SARS-Cov-2 test in a woman with COVID-19 at 22 days...
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