[ad_1]
Patients who had positive diagnoses of the new coronavirus After recovering from a first infection, they appear to transmit the disease much less the second time, health officials said. South Korea this Wednesday
People in protective masks walk down the street in downtown Seoul 04/22/2020 REUTERS / Heo Ran
Photo: Reuters
Although the trend of new cases in the country continues to decline, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Korea (KCDC) has begun investigating an increasing number of people who receive positive diagnoses after recovering.
So far more than 180 of these cases have been reported, but none are known to have infected others.
Initially, South Korean medical authorities conducted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on suspected cases.
But when investigating people who seem to have relapsed after recovering from covid-19, the KCDC removes the virus cultures, a process that takes more than two weeks before reliable results become evident.
So far, there are culture tests for 39 cases, but the six completed so far have been negative.
“This means that the virus in relapse cases has little or no transmissibility,” said the director of the KCDC, Jeong Eun-kyeong, in a briefing.
Jeong He contested the idea of replacing PCR tests with culture tests to determine if a patient has fully recovered due to the time and resources they need.
The KCDC said it is still examining why some patients still test positive after recovery.
Among the main possibilities are new infections, a relapse or inaccurate tests, experts say, and Jeong He said the virus may have been “reactivated,” rather than patients becoming infected again.
The KCDC reported 11 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to 10,694. The daily number of new cases has been around 10 in the past five days.
The total number of deaths is 238.
After facing the first major outbreak outside of Chinathe South Korea It has managed to keep the epidemic under control without major disruption thanks to a massive screening campaign and intensive follow-up of contacts.
See also:
Reuters: This publication that includes information and data is the intellectual property of Reuters. Their use or name are expressly prohibited without prior permission from Reuters. All rights reserved.
