Coronavirus May ‘Reactivate’ in Cured Patients, Korean CDC Says
The coronavirus may be “reactivating” in people who have been cured of the illness, according to Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 51 patients classed as having been cured in South Korea have tested positive again, the CDC said in a briefing on Monday. Rather than being infected again, the virus may have been reactivated in these people, given they tested positive again shortly after being released from quarantine, said Jeong Eun-kyeong, director-general of the Korean CDC.
“While we are putting more weight on reactivation as the possible cause, we are conducting a comprehensive study on this,” Jeong said. “There have been many cases when a patient during treatment will test negative one day and positive another.”
A patient is deemed fully recovered when two tests conducted with a 24-hour interval show negative results.
The Korean CDC will conduct an epidemiological probe into the cases, Jeong said.
South Korea was one of the earliest countries to see a large-scale coronavirus outbreak, but the country has seen just 200 deaths and a falling new case tally since peaking at 1,189 on Feb. 29. One of the world’s most expansive testing programs and a tech-driven approach to tracing infections has seen Korea contain its epidemic without lockdowns or shuttering businesses.
Fear of re-infection in recovered patients is also growing in China, where the virus first emerged last December, after reports that some tested positive again -- and even died from the disease -- after supposedly recovering and leaving hospital. There’s little understanding of why this happens, although some believe that the problem may lie in inconsistencies in test results.
As of Wednesday, South Korea had 10,384 virus cases, with 6,776 released from hospital, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News.
Epidemiologists around the world are in a race to find out more about the virus that causes Covid-19. The pathogen’s rapid global spread has recently seen the focus shift to patients who contract the virus but display few or atypical symptoms. Korea has been at the forefront of tracking these cases, which are causing particular concern in China, where the epidemic is showing signs of coming under control.
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This is what is so troublesome with this virus. This is exactly what happens with cats with coronavirus. It has been my concern since I heard about it.
We still don't know what this means though.
When reactivated:
Daily Corona virus press briefings by Trump are worthless, the info is skewed or outright false and Trump is unable to answer technical questions, or allow those questions to be answered because they may "look bad".
People who were thought to have recovered from the coronavirus tested positive again, indicating that patients can relapse, South Korean officials say.
South Korea reported nearly 7,000 COVID-19 recoveries, but after 91 patients re-tested positive, officials are worried it’s just the tip of the iceberg, and far more people will likely relapse as well , Reuters reported. China also found more than 100 people, who were thought to have recovered, tested positive for the virus a second time , revealing what could be a sinister global trend, McClatchy reported.
Still, the possibility of coronavirus patients relapsing is of international concern, since many countries hope previously infected patients will develop immunity, Reuters said.
Dr. Marc Siegal, along with some other Doctors, were having questions about this today.
Were they "Actually Cured" ?
Did they still have the "Virus even though symptoms subsided" ?
Were the original Tests "Accurate" ?
Was the "Re-testing" accurate ?
Hey guys, no one is saying that they know for sure what is going on. All I am saying is this is how the virus behaves in cats and it is a source of concern.
Why ?
If they don't know "For Sure", should they be worrying people further than they already are ?
"All I am saying is this is how the virus behaves in cats and it is a source of concern."
Moral is..….. "Don't have or eat Cats" ?
I am saying that Trump is allowing them to answer less and less. Especially when he knows they will contradict him.
I think these results are consistent with observations following the 2003 outbreak of SARS-CoV. Some immunological studies indicate that immunity to SARS-Cov fades after 3 years while other studies indicate longer lasting immunity. I haven't waded through listed research on MERS-CoV; preliminary searches of information indicated that little progress has been made on MERS-CoV.
The current virus that causes Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is SARS-CoV-2. Reporting indicates that there are significant similarities and differences between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV that caused the 2003 outbreak. Here are a couple of links (that are a little easier to read and digest) comparing SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.
COVID-19 vs. SARS: How Do They Differ? - healthline
Differences and similarities between Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoronaVirus (CoV) and SARS-CoV-2. Would a rose by another name smell as sweet?Differences and similarities between Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoronaVirus (CoV) and SARS-CoV-2. Would a rose by another name smell as sweet? - European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences
The second link has a button to open the article as a PDF document. The article is a little more technical but not too difficult to follow.
The possibility of either reinfection or reactivation suggests the importance of face coverings as a mitigation practice. We are going to be wearing face masks for a very long time.
I can hardly wait to see what Old Navy introduces as new fashion. Maybe we should think about full face hoodies?
I bet the developers of facial recognition software are loving this.
Let's hope no one comes up with the bright idea of corona-burkas. Although, I suppose, they could be designed for use as a wearable body bag, too.