US Man Gets Infected With COVID-19 A Second Time With Even More Severe Symptoms
This is the fifth case of a COVID-19 reinfection worldwide.
By Lee Yong Jin — 15 Oct 2020, 01:13 PM
Scientists have confirmed that a 25-year-old man from Nevada, US was infected twice with COVID-19
In a case study published by The Lancet, the two infections occurred about six weeks apart, the patient first tested positive in April, but later recovered and tested negative in early May.
At the end of May, however, he went to an urgent care centre after having shortness of breath and was hospitalised with oxygen support.
"The second infection was symptomatically more severe than the first," wrote the study.
Luckily, the man survived his second ordeal with COVID-19.
Previously, four cases of COVID-19 reinfection were also confirmed around the world
A research paper published by the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) shows that one patient in Ecuador had more severe symptoms during their second infection.
Three other patients from Hong Kong, Belgium, and the Netherlands did not show any differences in severity.
Authors of the case study speculated why the first infection did not produce antibodies to combat the virus more effectively:
- The reinfection was caused by a virulent version of the virus.
- A mechanism known as the antibody-dependent enhancement is actually making the infections worse.
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