Bengaluru reports first case of Coronavirus reinfection

BENGALURU: A 27-year-old women in Bengaluru, who recovered from COVID-19 in July, became the first person to get reinfected by coronavirus. Fortis Hospital, Bengaluru, said that the woman tested positive in July and was released after testing negative. However, she developed some minor symptoms after a month and contracted the virus again. 

Dr Pratik Patil, Consultant, Infectious Diseases, Fortis Hospital, said that she was tested twice and then discharged on July 24. However, in August, she was tested positive again with minor symptoms. This is possibly the first reported case of COVID-19 reinfection in Bengaluru.

Normally, in case of infection, the COVID Immunoglobulin G antibody is tested positive after few weeks of infection. However, in this case, the antibody has been tested negative, which means she did not develop immunity after infection. Dr Patil added that there can be one more possibility that the Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies vanished after a month and made her vulnerable to reinfection. Such types of reinfection cases mean that the antibodies may not develop in some cases whereas in some of them, it may not last long enough to protect the virus from entering the body again. Various international studies have suggested that patients who recovered from COVID-19 develop immunity for some months. However, this case of reinfection has nullified various researches in this regard.