Explainer: Why are some South Koreans who recovered from the coronavirus testing positive again?

[snoop1130]

Explainer: Why are some South Koreans who recovered from the coronavirus testing positive again?

By Sangmi Cha

 

FILE PHOTO: Couples enjoy a view of Seoul while practicing social distancing, behind an observation deck which has been cordoned off as part of efforts to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), atop Mt. Namsan in Seoul, South Korea, April 7, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean health officials are investigating several possible explanations for a small but growing number of recovered coronavirus patients who later test positive for the virus again.

 

Among the main possibilities are re-infection, a relapse, or inconsistent tests, experts say.

 

South Korea had reported 141 such cases as of Thursday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

 

RE-INFECTION OR RELAPSE?

 

Although re-infection would be the most concerning scenario because of its implications for developing immunity in a population, both the KCDC and many experts say this is unlikely.

 

Instead, the KCDC says it is leaning toward some kind of relapse or “re-activation” in the virus.

 

A relapse could mean that parts of the virus go into some kind of dormant state for a time, or that some patients may have certain conditions or weak immunity that makes them susceptible to the virus reviving in their system, experts said.

 

A recent study by doctors in China and the United States suggested the new coronavirus can damage T lymphocytes, also known as T cells, which play a central role the body’s immune system and ability to battle infections.

 

Kim Jeong-ki, a virologist at the Korea University College of Pharmacy, compared a relapse after treatment to a spring that snaps back after being pressed down.

 

“When you press down a spring it becomes smaller, then when you take your hands off, the spring pops up,” he said.

 

Even if the patients are found to have relapsed rather than to have been re-infected, it could signal new challenges for containing the spread of the virus.

 

“South Korean health authorities still haven’t found cases where the ‘reactivated’ patients spread the virus to third parties, but if such infectiousness is proven, that would be a huge problem,” said Seol Dai-wu, an expert in vaccine development and a professor at Chung-Ang University.

 

LIMITS OF TESTING

 

Patients in South Korea are considered clear of the virus when they have tested negative twice in a 48-hour period.

 

While the RT-PCR tests used in South Korea are considered generally accurate, experts said that there are ways they could return false or inconsistent results for a small number of cases.

 

“RT-PCR tests boast an accuracy of 95%. This means that there still can be 2-5% of those cases that are detected false negative or false positive cases,” Kim said.

 

Remnants of the virus could remain at levels too low to be detected by a given test, Seol said.

 

On the other hand, the tests may also be so sensitive that they are picking up small, potentially harmless levels of the virus, leading to new positive results even though the person has recovered, Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of KCDC said at a briefing on Tuesday.

 

The tests could also be compromised if the necessary samples are not collected properly, said Eom Joong-sik, professor of infectious diseases at Gachon University Gil Medical Centre.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-16

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[Snackbar]

Med Cram states the RT-PCR test is 70% accurate at best, David Icke claims there is no Cov2 test. 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Snackbar

[mfd101]

The question posed is really really important. All the current assumptions & institutional rules & behavioral regulations would be in chaos if reactivation or reinfection becomes the norm.

 

That would be an exceedingly grim outlook, at least until a vaccine comes along - which may be some time in the next 6 months or maybe 2 years or maybe a decade away. Noone knows.

[Mahks]

David Icke has no claims that test true

[nobodysfriend]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Although re-infection would be the most concerning scenario because of its implications for developing immunity in a population, both the KCDC and many experts say this is unlikely.

 

Instead, the KCDC says it is leaning toward some kind of relapse or “re-activation” in the virus

Reinfected by the virus means , once the infected person is cured , there is no sufficient immunity to prevent a reinfection .

Virus relapsed means that it has never been completely cleared off a body , even if the patient is considered being cured of it .

Both is very bad news because there is a possibility that there is no way to completely get rid of the virus .

 

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

A recent study by doctors in China and the United States suggested the new coronavirus can damage T lymphocytes, also known as T cells, which play a central role the body’s immune system and ability to battle infections.

 

T lymphocytes are essential for the human immune system . If the Covid Virus destroys them , there will be no more immunity against it and the virus wins .

 

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

A relapse could mean that parts of the virus go into some kind of dormant state for a time, or that some patients may have certain conditions or weak immunity that makes them susceptible to the virus reviving in their system, experts said.

Let's hope that this is true for ' some patients ' only ...

[terryw]

Maybe the reason is faulty testing. There does seem to be problems with finding a reliable test.

[VocalNeal]

I was in hospital one time and had a lumbar puncture. results came back and the doctor said "You also have Japanese Encephalitis" 

I said "Could that be because i was once inoculated against it?" 

He said. "Yeah maybe that could be right, but the treatment for both is the same so"

 

So I'm theorizing that the Koreans still have traces of coronavirus because they have only just recovered and still have antibodies floating around in there system.

 

Of course it is always possible that patients only recover from the symptoms of the virus but are still carriers.

Edited April 17, 2020 by VocalNeal

[Mike Teavee]

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

The question posed is really really important. All the current assumptions & institutional rules & behavioral regulations would be in chaos if reactivation or reinfection becomes the norm.

 

That would be an exceedingly grim outlook, at least until a vaccine comes along - which may be some time in the next 6 months or maybe 2 years or maybe a decade away. Noone knows.

Not quite as grim if the reactivation is none contagious & I'm yet to read of anybody who's "Infected" for the 2nd time dying so hopefully it is not as serious when/if reactivated

 

But I agree, very grim reading that makes the end of lockdowns even more difficult to plan 

 

[tomauasia]

I thought cockroaches were immune ??

[ThailandRyan]

2 hours ago, Snackbar said:

Med Cram states the RT-PCR test is 70% accurate at best, David Icke claims there is no Cov2 test. 

Claim

To state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof. An assertion of the truth of something, typically one that is disputed or in doubt.

1.  I claim to know nothing about anything

However, no one really knows much about this virus in totality, are the tests accurate, are they flawed, things that have and are being said are just unverified by peer review, and therefore lack credibility, as there are so many speculator conclusions that one can make.  However, I am 100% That the statement made by the PM is 100% false.  That is a claim that has been verified by what we are currently being subjected too.

 

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, Snackbar said:

Med Cram states the RT-PCR test is 70% accurate at best, David Icke claims there is no Cov2 test. 

David Icke is an idiot.

 

https://www.fda.gov/media/136151/download

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by FritsSikkink

[nobodysfriend]

37 minutes ago, tomauasia said:

I thought cockroaches were immune ??

Well , the two-legged ones are not ...

[rabas]

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

Not quite as grim if the reactivation is none contagious & I'm yet to read of anybody who's "Infected" for the 2nd time dying so hopefully it is not as serious when/if reactivated

 

But I agree, very grim reading that makes the end of lockdowns even more difficult to plan

Earlier in China doctors reported a few mild cases that turned positive a second time with severe symptoms and some died. The reports said the virus appeared to re-attack the heart and speculated that medical treatment the first time may have weakened the heart's immunity to the virus. But that seems a rare exception to the rule.

 

As for negatives, I wonder if nasal swabs have difficulty picking up what is primarily a deep lung infection. According to reported symptoms only 4% have nasal discharge and 0% sneeze.

 

When we sneeze at home we say God bless, you don't have corona.

[Chomper Higgot]

3 hours ago, Snackbar said:

Med Cram states the RT-PCR test is 70% accurate at best, David Icke claims there is no Cov2 test. 

David Icke.

 

Righty-o.

[ThailandRyan]

25 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

David Icke.

 

Righty-o.

David Vaughan Icke is an English professional conspiracy theorist,

 

So now we know the rest of the story....lol, and definitely not from this guy.

[RichardColeman]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Among the main possibilities are re-infection, a relapse, or inconsistent tests, experts say

My money is on buying dodgy tests from some unmentionable country

[Krataiboy]

3 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

David Icke is an idiot.

 

https://www.fda.gov/media/136151/download

 

Yeah, but. . .

 

The document cited cautions, 'Positive results do not rule out bacterial infection or co-infection with other viruses. The agent detected may not be the definite cause of disease".

 

It also states, "Negative results do not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for patient management decisions. Negative results must be combined with clinical observations, patient history, and epidemiological information."

 

Maybe our David has a point.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Krataiboy

[FritsSikkink]

19 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Yeah, but. . .

 

The document cited cautions, 'Positive results do not rule out bacterial infection or co-infection with other viruses. The agent detected may not be the definite cause of disease".

 

It also states, "Negative results do not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for patient management decisions. Negative results must be combined with clinical observations, patient history, and epidemiological information."

 

Maybe our David has a point.

No he doesn't.

[Krataiboy]

2 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

No he doesn't.

Because?

[simple1]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

My money is on buying dodgy tests from some unmentionable country

South Korea developed its own testing kits which are also being acquired by a number of countries.

 

South Korea started developing COVID-19 tests before its first confirmed case. The country had put procedures in place for managing an outbreak after dealing with MERS in 2015, and it had a testing methodology ready even before the new coronavirus was identified. By early February, South Korea's first test has been approved, 

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/south-koreas-coronavirus-curve-timeline-2020-4?r=AU&IR=T

[RocketDog]

On 4/17/2020 at 8:17 AM, mfd101 said:

The question posed is really really important. All the current assumptions & institutional rules & behavioral regulations would be in chaos if reactivation or reinfection becomes the norm.

 

That would be an exceedingly grim outlook, at least until a vaccine comes along - which may be some time in the next 6 months or maybe 2 years or maybe a decade away. Noone knows.

Wait. If having the virus doesn't make one immune then how will a vaccination do it?