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Kerala woman again turns Covid 19 positive after recovery, state medical board to study her case
Experts say the resurgence of virus in the woman is unlikely to be a case of Covid 19 reinfection.
A woman in Kerala has again tested positive for Covid 19, a few days after reportedly getting cured from the disease in the month of June. She had recently returned to the state from the United Arab Emirates. While the experts have called it worrisome, they have ruled it out as a case of re-infection. According to them, it is more likely to be a case of resurgence of viral remnant. In another possibility, they suspect the woman may not have recovered fully last month.
Viral remnant is a condition where the virus remains dormant even after recovery but doesn’t show infectious tendencies due its weakened state. The experts add that the resurgence of the virus in the woman calls for a detailed study.
“We have checked the case history of the patient. She had tested positive in the month of May and turned negative in the third week of June after treatment. She was quarantined after her return to Kerala in the last week of June. She tested positive two days back,” said Kottayam district medical officer Dr Jacob Varghese.
He said either she was not fully cured or it could be a case of viral remnant. Experts say such cases are one in thousands and can’t be considered a regular phenomenon of the viral disease.
“We have to examine her previous clinical records and positivity thoroughly. Chances of re-infection are unlikely. In some cases there are delayed remissions and in other cases they remain asymptomatic though infected,” said state health secretary Rajan Kobragade, adding that the state medical board will study the case in detail.
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In Pathnamthitta, a girl student who had tested positive upon her return from Delhi remained asymptomatic throughout her positivity period and in another case, a woman turned negative after 19 continuous tests. The World Health Organization (WHO) has prescribed a 14-day incubation period but the state had extended it to 28 days and insisted on three consecutive negative tests for discharge, but it tweaked it after the number of cases increased. Now, a patient can be discharged after the first negative result.
Another such case was reported in Idukki, again an expatriate who had returned from Abu Dhabi. But after checking his medical history, doctors found he had never tested positive in the UAE, despite claiming to have undergone treatment and turned negative later. His antibody test at Abu Dhabi airport was negative but he tested positive on his arrival at Cochin airport. He is currently undergoing treatment at the government medical college hospital in Ernakulam.
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“It is a new virus and its features and behaviour are still under study. Cases of re-infection have not been validated anywhere. Kottayam case needs an in-depth study,” said public health expert V Ramankutty.
He added that highly-populated countries like India will have to live with the virus for some time, resulting in the eventual development of herd immunity. The fight against Covid-19 can be made easier if those infected develop an adequate level of immunity through development of antibodies, said experts. Kerala has reported 5,204 cases, out of which, 3,050 have recovered, leaving 2,129 active cases.
