Scientists Report First Confirmed Reinfection Case

Bloomberg reports:

A man was infected with the coronavirus after recovering from an initial bout in April in what scientists said was the first case showing that re-infection may occur within a few months. The 33-year-old’s second SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected via airport screening on his return to Hong Kong from Europe this month.

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong used genomic sequence analysis to prove that he had been infected by two different strains. The information technology worker didn’t develop any symptoms from his second infection, which might indicate “subsequent infections may be milder,” the researchers said.

“Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may persist in humans,” Kwok-Yung Yuen and colleagues said Monday in a paper accepted for publication in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Breaking News: Researchers reported the first confirmed case of coronavirus reinfection, suggesting that immunity in some people might last only a few months https://t.co/nmqcOPfAKY

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 24, 2020

My thoughts on Hong Kong reinfection report.

The key question is not whether COVID reinfection occurs. It is whether reinfection will be severe. I have said before that severe reinfection will be very rare, and reinfections won’t cause a repeat of the pandemic. NO need to panic pic.twitter.com/Ml0dceZDpd

— Vincent Rajkumar (@VincentRK) August 24, 2020