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Nevada officials are reporting what may be the first documented case of coronavirus reinfection in the United States, following similar reports earlier this week from Hong Kong and Europe.
Initially, a 25-year-old Reno man with mild COVID-19 symptoms was found to have the virus in April, recovered and tested negative twice, and then tested positive again in June.
Mark Baker / AP
American scientists have documented the first case of Covid-19 reinfection in the United States.
He was much sicker the second time, with pneumonia that required hospitalization and oxygen treatment.
Genetic testing for each episode showed that the viruses were similar in important ways, but differed by at least 12 points, which would be highly unlikely from the natural history of the bug if man had it continuously rather than getting infected a second time, said Mark Pandori, director. from the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory.
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A father the man lives with also tested positive in June, so it is possible he acquired a new infection that way.
The findings have not yet been published or reviewed by other scientists, but they were posted on a research site.
The case “should cement in our minds that there is no such thing … as invulnerability” to the virus, even if you’ve already had it, Pandori said.
“You can get sick again and that disease can be quite serious.”
