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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| 51 Recovered (Coronavirus) Patients Test Positive Again |
| 2020-04-07 |
| [TheSun] FEARS have been raised that the coronavirus may be able to remain in the body and "reactivate" later after 51 recovered patients tested positive again. The patients, from the city of Daegu, South Korea, had all spent time in quarantine while recovering from the virus, but were diagnosed again within days of being released. South Korea has been among the most successful countries globally in controlling the outbreak, using strict quarantining and widespread testing to slow its spread of the virus. The number of new cases being diagnosed each day in the country is now at levels last seen as the pandemic was getting underway in February. The 51 cases were identified as part of a study conducted in Daegu, the epicentre of the outbreak in South Korea, by a team of epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The center said it did not believe the patients had been reinfected, but that the virus had remained at undetectable levels in their cells and later "reactivated". The claim runs contrary to the bulk of current evidence about how the virus works. Speaking to MailOnline, Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases professor at the University of East Anglia, said: "I agree that these will not be reinfections but I do not think these will be reactivations. "Personally I think the most likely explanation is that the clearance samples were false negative." Coronavirus patients are typically required to test negative twice before being allowed to leave quarantine. Where this happens and they are later found to be infected, it is thought to be much more likely that the negative tests gave the wrong result. The tests currently available produce an incorrect results roughly one in five times. It is currently thought that coronavirus patients will remain immune from the disease in at least the medium-term once they have recovered. Scientists have said previous reports of people becoming reinfected are concerning, but that much more evidence needs to be collected before conclusions can be drawn. Speaking in February, Mark Harris, Professor of Virology at the University of Leeds, said: Clearly we need more information about these patients, such as were there underlying medical conditions or a change in circumstances that might have allowed the virus to escape immune control? |
| Posted by:Phomoper Lumplump4826 |
| #9 Or, it means the tests are unreliable This is at least as likely as the other options. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2020-04-07 18:31 |
| #8 Or, it means the tests are unreliable. |
| Posted by: Spot 2020-04-07 14:00 |
| #7 #3 A virus doesn't know if it's reactivated or brand new. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-04-07 10:17 |
| #6 Recurrent or re-infected? No evidence presented either way. did not believe the patients had been reinfected "belief" is not evidence much less proof. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2020-04-07 09:47 |
| #5 widespread testing to slow its spread of the virus. So if we tested more, we'd eradicate it? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2020-04-07 09:27 |
| #4 /\ If engineered as a bio-weapon, the answer is likely to be yes. It would appear no one in gov't wishes to flip that rock over. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-04-07 08:46 |
| #3 Biggest question is if "reactivated" virus is communicable. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2020-04-07 08:40 |
| #2 A severely wounded enemy soldier is far more of a logistical drain on your opponent than a dead enemy soldier. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-04-07 08:40 |
| #1 From the very onset there was speculation that the Chi Com virus could possibly go dormant. Some thoughts regarding living on in the gut biome up to 30 days. So no surprise here. |
| Posted by: Woodrow 2020-04-07 08:36 |