First case of covid-19 reinfection in the US 1:17
(CNN) ––
A Dutch elderly woman is the first person reported to die from contracting coronavirus twice, according to experts.
This raises serious questions about how long immunity and antibodies can last.
LEE: Reinfection by coronavirus: what scientists in Hong Kong documented of the first confirmed case
The 89-year-old woman suffered from a rare type of bone marrow cancer called Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.
His immune system was affected by the cell depletion therapy he received, researchers at the Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands wrote in an article accepted for publication in the journal
Clinical Infectious Diseases.
However, the researchers said their natural immune response might still have been "sufficient" to fight COVID-19.
This is because the type of cancer treatment you received "does not necessarily result in a life-threatening illness."
The woman had coronavirus twice
The patient was initially admitted to the hospital earlier this year with a severe cough and fever.
He tested positive for covid-19.
She was discharged five days later when "in addition to some persistent fatigue, her symptoms subsided completely," according to the report.
But two days after chemotherapy treatment, 59 days after the start of the first episode of Covid-19, the woman developed a fever, cough and shortness of breath.
Once again, he tested positive for coronavirus.
No antibodies were detected in her blood system when the test was performed on days 4 and 6. Her condition deteriorated on day 8.
Two weeks later, the woman died.
A man in Hong Kong contracts COVID-19 twice 0:51
The patient was not tested between the two infections, so the researchers have no confirmed negative tests.
However, when examining the samples from both cases, they found that the genetic makeup of the two viruses was different.
Therefore, they concluded that "it is likely that the second episode was a reinfection rather than a prolonged one."
This is the first time that a person has been reported to have died from a second coronavirus infection.
However, some cases of reinfection have been reported around the world.
The most recent was a 25-year-old resident of Washoe County in Nevada, United States.
Cases of reinfection
This man is the first case of reinfection that has been documented in the United States.
According to researchers from
The Lancet Infectious Diseases
, a medical journal, the patient was positive for covid-19 in April and again in June.
On both occasions, he had symptoms, such as a sore throat, cough, headache, nausea, and diarrhea.
The man had no pre-existing health problems.
However, like the Dutch woman, she suffered a more serious episode the second time.
However, unlike the Dutch victim, the man developed a measurable antibody response after the second episode.
The researchers were unable to conclude how long he was immune, or if he ever was.
In
The Lancet Infectious Diseases
, the researchers noted: “Re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 has been reported in at least four people worldwide.
Therefore, previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 does not necessarily translate into guaranteed total immunity. "
'The implications of reinfections could be relevant for the development and application of vaccines.
From a public health perspective, all people, whether previously diagnosed or not, should take the same precautions to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.
More work is needed to assess immune reactions in vitro after reinfection, ”they added.
A 33-year-old man living in Hong Kong was the first person reported to have contracted the virus twice.
He was re-infected 4.5 months after initially contracting the virus and had no symptoms the second time.
In the Dutch woman's case report, the researchers said that covid-19 reinfections are expected to occur once the antibodies and immunity wane.
covid-19 Transmission
