THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Can a patient who recovered from COVID-19 contract the virus again? This is the latest concern that has spread across the state after cases of reinfection were reported in other states and countries. In the wake of this development, the health department is planning to conduct a follow-up of recovered patients.
Considering the risk posed by such people, besides the asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic ones, the department has stressed the need for strictly implementing containment measures. “Cases of reinfection were reported from China and South Korea. On Sunday, a similar case was reported in Himachal Pradesh. It could become a challenging situation for the state,” said an officer with the health department.
A discussion along these lines was held during the state rapid response team’s (RRT) meeting. “Some doubts are there. However, it needs to be reconfirmed. Reinfection is a serious issue and an action plan is needed to address it,” said a member of the RRT.
An epidemiologist said the question worth exploring was whether the virus has undergone mutation, in which it changes its physical and genetic makeup. “Normally, the body develops an immune system on its own when it gets exposed to viruses and bacteria. The same is the case with SARS-CoV-2. However, the virus seems to be mutating, which means, though a recovered patient may have developed an immune system against one variant of the virus, the possibility of being infected by another variant remains high,” said the epidemiologist.