Nevada man becomes first person in US to catch Coronavirus twice, scientists say




A nurse performs a coronavirus test on 15 May 2020 in Sydney, Australia.


© Lisa Maree Williams / Getty Images
A nurse performs a coronavirus test on 15 May 2020 in Sydney, Australia.

IN COVID-19 patient in Nevada is thought to be the first person in the U.S. to have the coronavirus twice.

The unnamed 25-year-old individual from Reno tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 on April 18, and had symptoms including a sore throat, headache, nausea and diarrhea, according to a pre-print study. By April 27, the symptoms had resolved, and two coronavirus tests returned negative on May 9th.

On May 31, the patient reported having fever, headache, dizziness, such as cough, nausea, and diarrhea. Five days later, the patient was hospitalized after her condition worsened, and positive test for the coronavirus again. Examples of the patient also showed that they had antibodies against the coronavirus.

The patient had no immune problems that could explain reinfection, and they did not take immunosuppressant drugs said the team.

The data supports “an copy of re-infection with SARSCoV-2 [the coronavirus], “according to the researchers. But they said:” this may represent a rare event. “

The scientists examined the genetic makeup of the virus found in the patient’s samples, and found that they were different enough to suggest that they had been infected twice.

Scientists worked with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Sciences Unit to perform identity tests on the samples to verify that they were from the same patient.

The findings were submitted as a pre-print to the website SSRN this means that it has not gone through the rigorous peer review process required to publish in scientific journals. By releasing these studies, scientists can initiate debate on a topic and this approach is particularly useful in rapid situations such as a pandemic.

Note Pandori, director of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory, said in a statement: “There is only one finding, but it shows that a person could possibly be infected with SARS-CoV-2 a second time. iif reinfection is possible in such a short period of time, there may be consequences for the effectiveness of vaccines designed to combat the disease. It can also affect herd immunity. “

However, he said it was important to note that it is a single find, and does not provide information on whether this is likely to occur again.

More than half a year in the COVID-19 pandemic, many remain unknown, including how long immunity to the virus lasts. Evidence on other members of the coronavirus family of viruses suggests that immunity can last one to three years, according to the authors.

Pandori said: “After one recovers from COVID-19, we do not yet know how much immunity is built up, how long it can last, or how well antibodies play a role in protection against a reinfection. It’s a novel disease. We still have a steep learning curve ahead and a lot of work to do, especially when uncomfortable truths arise. “

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The incident comes to a man Hong Kong tests positive for the coronavirus for a second time, four and a half months after first getting it COVID-19. The marked the first documented case of coronavirus reinfection. Two other cases of re-infection were also reported this week, one in Belgium and another in the Netherlands.

Discuss the possibility of re-infection in March, Benjamin Linas, an expert in infectious diseases at Boston Medical Center and Boston University, told Newsweek: “Perhaps there is something special or different about these individuals [infected twice]. Maybe they have suppression of immune system, maybe they are taking medicines that somehow make them more susceptible to re-infection. We do not know yet.

“For example, it may be true that humans can be re-infected with SARS.CoV-2, but that the second time around the infection is less serious because there is a shared immunity. “

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