2 Delhi patients found reinfected with COVID-19 within a month: Hosp

The Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has reported two peculiar cases about two patients which it says have recontracted the Covid19 infection within a short span of recovery from the viral diseaseThe patients include a man with a comorbidity and a healthcare staff of the hospital itself As per the hospital the man was found to be reinfected in mere 25 days of testing negative from the first attack of the Covid19However the staff was found to be reinfected within two months of the recovery from the previous episode The disease severity was found to be in the mild category in both the episodes Surprisingly the antibodies developed after the first infection were also found at negligible level in the patientsDr Atul Kakar Senior consultant and Vice chairman of Department of Medicine informed IANS that the antibody levels were either negligible or totally absent in the body of the two patients since they tested negative for the antibodiesThe first patient who is in his middle age with an underlying condition of diabetes mellitus was found reinfected within a month of testing negative for the disease The patient had a liver involvement due to alcohol and renal involvement due to diabetesHe had nasal discharge and was subsequently found to have fungal infection of sinuses mucormycosis in addition to Covid19 infection RT PCRA He was treated with antifungal and other supportive medications and about 10 days later he was tested negative for Covid and discharged home He was readmitted due to abdominal distension 25 days later and required hospitalization during which he was retested and found COVID 19 positive informed Dr Kakar The second case is of the healthcare staff of the hospital She was tested positive for COVID19 in August and retested positive for the disease in OctoberShe was initially admitted to the Covid facility for 3 days but later shifted to home isolation for 17 days in view of mild nature of her illness On August 23 she rejoined work at the hospital after testing negative In October she developed a fresh episode of cough generalised weakness and malaise On October 28 the patient was investigated and was found to be Covid19 positive once again She was readmitted in the Covid facility and tested negative in few days after being diagnosed Dr Kakar saidDuring the course patient was tested for Covid19 antibodies but her antibody levels were negative he added However when asked whether the CT value were recorded during the investigation in both the cases during the first episode and the claimed reinfection Dr Kakar said that the hospital considered it inconsequential during the reinfectionBoth these cases follow the defined criteria of reinfection However in ideal circumstances gene sequencing should have been done in both the cases he added Dr Kakar also said that the reinfection with COVID was considered as a rare possibility so far However it may start happening with the patients who recovered with the mild form of the viral diseaseDuring recovery from Covid19 infection most patients develop antibodies against COVID after 1 to 3 weeks from onset of symptoms The development of these antibodies depends on multiple factors including the severity of the infection and patients immune response to the infection Thus a patient who has mild disease may not mount good immune response and may not develop antibodies he explainedDr Kakar also cautioned that the patients who recovered from the COVID19 should continue precautions like social distancing hand washing and wearing a mask in public places to avoid such reinfections Dr Suranjit Chatterjee senior consultant Internal Medicine Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals concurred with Ganga Ram Hospitals observation regarding patients with mild severity of Covid19 but cautioned that one needs to be sure before categorising the instancesWe have been reporting cases where antibodies are not found after a period of recovery from Covid However its too nuanced to categorise the patients who come with reonset of the COVID symptoms after recovery as reinfection he stated Whether its a reinfection or a relapse it should be a subject of study Dr Chatterjee addedKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever