Can coronavirus 'reactivate' in recovered patients?
Dr. Nicole Saphier addresses a South Korean CDC study that reports 51% of recovered COVID-19 patients tested positive a second time
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The World Health Organization (WHO) over the weekend said it plans to investigate reports that some COVID-19 patients in South Korea tested positive again for the novel virus after first testing negative when being considered for hospital discharge, according to a report.
At least 90 patients in South Korea have tested positive for a second time, said Jeong Eun-kyeong, the director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Friday, Reuters reported. But rather than being reinfected, Eun-kyeong said the virus may have “reactivated” in the patients after “remaining dormant.”
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Currently, the WHO says COVID-19 patients can be discharged from the hospital after two consecutive tests taken 24 hours apart show they are negative. In mild cases of the virus, it takes at least 14 days for patients to show symptoms and then be considered “clinically recovered,” according to the outlet.
In a statement to Reuters, the WHO said it plans to investigate the report.
“We are aware of these reports of individuals who have tested negative for COVID-19 using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing and then after some days testing positive again,” the WHO said. “We are closely liaising with our clinical experts and working hard to get more information on those individual cases. It is important to make sure that when samples are collected for testing on suspected patients, procedures are followed properly.”
“We are aware that some patients are PCR positive after they clinically recover, but we need [a] systematic collection of samples from recovered patients to better understand how long they shed live virus,” it added.
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As of Monday morning, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 1,860,011 people across 185 countries and territories, resulting in over 114,983 deaths. In the U.S., all 50 states plus the District of Columbia have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19, tallying over 557,590 illnesses and at least 22,109 deaths.
A spokesperson for the international health agency did not immediately return Fox News’s request for comment on Monday.
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