New York: A 25-year-old man in the U.S. contracted Covid twice, a study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases showed, indicating that exposure to the virus may not translate into full immunity.
According to The Lancet, it is the first confirmed case of an American patient to be reinfected with Covid-19, and the fifth known case reported worldwide.
In a case study, the Washoe County, Nevada patient had two positive tests for SARS-CoV-2, the first on April 18, 2020 and the second on June 5, 2020, separated by two negative tests. performed during follow-up. in May 2020.
“The genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 showed genetically significant differences between each variant associated with each case of infection. The second infection was symptomatically more severe than the first, ”wrote the study authors from the University of Nevada.
Investigators revealed that the patient appeared at a community testing event conducted by the Washoe County Health District on April 18, 2020.
She had symptoms consistent with a viral infection (sore throat, cough, headache, nausea, and diarrhea), which had started on March 25.
The patient had no history of clinically significant underlying conditions and no evidence of compromised immunity was identified.
During isolation, the patient’s symptoms resolved (reported April 27, 2020) and he continued to feel well until May 28, 2020.
On May 31, 2020, the patient went to an urgent care center with fever, headache, dizziness, cough, nausea, and diarrhea, at which point he had a chest X-ray and was discharged.
Five days later (June 5, 2020), the patient presented to a primary care physician and was found to be hypoxic with shortness of breath. He was instructed to go to the emergency department after the oxygen supply.
“The genetic mismatch of the two SARS-CoV-2 samples was greater than could be explained by short-term in vivo evolution,” the researchers wrote.
These findings suggest that the patient was infected with SARS-CoV-2 on two separate occasions by a genetically different virus. Therefore, previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 may not guarantee full immunity in all cases.
“All people, whether previously diagnosed with Covid-19 or not, should take the same precautions to avoid infection with SARS-CoV-2. The implications of reinfections could be relevant for the development and application of vaccines, ”they noted.
(IANS)
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