cormack12
Gold Member
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54512034
A man in the United States has caught Covid twice, with the second infection becoming far more dangerous than the first, doctors report. The 25-year-old needed hospital treatment after his lungs could not get enough oxygen into his body.
Reinfections remain rare and he has now recovered. So far, reinfection seems to be rare - there have been only a few examples out of more than 37 million confirmed cases.
It is still unclear why the Nevada patient become more severely ill the second time. One idea is he may have been exposed to a bigger initial dose of the virus.
What happened when
"Our findings signal that a previous infection may not necessarily protect against future infection," said Dr Mark Pandori, from the University of Nevada. "The possibility of reinfections could have significant implications for our understanding of Covid-19 immunity."
He said even people who have recovered should continue to follow guidelines around social distancing, face masks and hand washing. Scientists are still grappling with the thorny issue of coronavirus and immunity.
A man in the United States has caught Covid twice, with the second infection becoming far more dangerous than the first, doctors report. The 25-year-old needed hospital treatment after his lungs could not get enough oxygen into his body.
Reinfections remain rare and he has now recovered. So far, reinfection seems to be rare - there have been only a few examples out of more than 37 million confirmed cases.
It is still unclear why the Nevada patient become more severely ill the second time. One idea is he may have been exposed to a bigger initial dose of the virus.
What happened when
- 25 March - First wave of symptoms, including sore throat, cough, headache, nausea and diarrhoea
- 18 April - He tests positive for the first time
- 27 April - Initial symptoms fully resolve
- 9 and 26 May - He tests negative for the virus on two occasions
- 28 May - He develops symptoms again, this time including fever, headache, dizziness, cough, nausea and diarrhoea
- 5 June - He tests positive for the second time, and is hypoxic (low blood oxygen) with shortness of breath
"Our findings signal that a previous infection may not necessarily protect against future infection," said Dr Mark Pandori, from the University of Nevada. "The possibility of reinfections could have significant implications for our understanding of Covid-19 immunity."
He said even people who have recovered should continue to follow guidelines around social distancing, face masks and hand washing. Scientists are still grappling with the thorny issue of coronavirus and immunity.
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