NEW DISCOVERY WORRIERS EXPERTS

QUESTION IMMUNITY New discovery worries experts: The first case of coronavirus reinfection has definitely been This suggests that immunity sometimes lasts only a few months which could have implications for vaccine development Writes: Jutarnji.hrPosted: August 24, 2020 6:09 pm Hong Kong Hong Kong Isaac Lawrence / AFP Facebook Twitter Messenger E-mail RELATED NEWS 8344313 136 NEW CASES Bozinovic: 'There must be no new lockdown, the goal of the meeting was to encourage local headquarters!' DRAGAN PRIMORAC 'There is no new lockdown, but today we cannot claim that an effective vaccine will be found' A Hong Kong patient was diagnosed with Covid-19 for the second time, more than four months after he first became infected, scientists there, the New York Times writes . - A young and previously healthy man became infected with the Covida-19 virus for the second time, four and a half months after the first infection, scientists from the University of Hong Kong announced on Monday. This news has caused quite a concern as it suggests that immunity to coronavirus in some people lasts only a few months which could have considerable implications for the development of a vaccine against the virus that is currently underway. The said 33-year-old had mild symptoms the first time and no symptoms at all the second time. The new infection was discovered when he returned from a trip to Spain, and the strain of coronavirus that was discovered in him coincides with the strain that circulated in Europe in July and August. “Our results prove that this second infection was caused by a new virus that a man recently picked up and it is not a prolonged first infection,” said Dr. Kelvin Kai-Wang To , a clinical microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong. Given the millions infected around the world, it is not unexpected that several or even dozens of people have re-infected with the virus after just a few months. Doctors have also reported several probable cases of re-infection in the U.S. and other countries, but none of these cases have been confirmed by rigorous testing. Recovered for weeks, it is known that they carry fragments of the virus, which is why the test can show a positive result, even though there is no longer a live virus in the body. But scientists from Hong Kong sequenced the virus from both infections and found significant differences between the two sets of viruses, confirming that it was indeed a re-infection. The common cold viruses are also known to cause re-infection in less than a year but experts hoped that Sars-CoV-2 behaves more like its cousins ​​SARS and MERS which produce immunity that can last for years. However, the World Health Organization calls for caution and says that conclusions based on the experience of only one in a total of 23 million registered patients worldwide should not be rushed. Also, a complete scientific paper on this case from Hong Kong has not been published yet, so not all aspects have been fully clarified. In other words, for any more general conclusion one needs to wait for more research.