Re-Infection with COVID very rare: ICMR DG

NEW DELHI: Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on Tuesday, September 15, said that re-infection with COVID-19 is very rare. Re-infection cases of measles have been reported where the body, even after developing anti-bodies, is prone to be affected by the disease again in future. Dr Bhargava added that a similar case of re-infection was reported in Hong Kong where a man got re-infected from COVID-19, which showed the possibility of re-infection. He further said that it is not a matter of concern as it should be noted that whenever re-infection occurs, the earlier symptoms would have been mild. 

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong reported the first documented instance of human re-infection last month where a Hong Kong man who recovered from COVID-19 got infected again four and a half months later.

Re-infection with the SARS-CoV-2 is still unknown and has not yet been definitely confirmed in any recovered persons till date and remains a subject of investigation, an expert group at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States (US) Department of Health in its guidance has noted recently. It added that this does not mean immunity against re-infection with COVID-19 is developed if an individual is once affected with coronavirus.

As per Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), over 38.5 lakh people have recovered from COVID-19 in India, which is one of the highest number in the world. India has constantly maintained a low and declining Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 1.64 per cent, which is far below the global average of 3.2 per cent. Aim is to reach a national CFR of less than 1 per cent, the MoHFW said.