Hong Kong received its first COVID-19 reinfected case. Based on the results, researchers concluded that some of the recovered COVID-19 patients might have only short-lived immunity from the novel coronavirus, which caused the current global pandemic.
Hong Kong's hospitals could face collapse as the city grapples with a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases, leader Carrie Lam has warned. #COVID__19 #COVID19 #copolitics #covid19australia pic.twitter.com/M22SQ5SBXh — South Gazette (@GazetteSouth) July 29, 2020
The University of Hong Kong's researchers confirmed that the man, who was previously infected, is the first patient to be infected with the coronavirus for the second time. The study's results will be useful to other scientists and medical experts who have been working on treatments using antibodies from the patients who recovered from the viral disease.
The research will also be helpful to those who are developing an effective and safe vaccine. In late Mar., the 33-year-old man in Hong Kong developed mild symptoms when he was first diagnosed with coronavirus.
He was hospitalized in Mar. 29 and then later discharged on Apr. 14 after his symptoms subsided. The researchers' study about the man's case was published by the medical journal Clinical Infectious Disease.
Researchers suggest that potential immunity to the viral disease will not last long
More than four months later, the man was infected for the second time after returning to Hong Kong from Spain. On Aug. 15, he tested positive and was hospitalized again. However, the study said that the patient remains asymptomatic.
Hong Kong's hospitals could face collapse as the city grapples with a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases, leader Carrie Lam has warned. #COVID__19 #COVID19 #copolitics #covid19australia pic.twitter.com/M22SQ5SBXh — South Gazette (@GazetteSouth) July 29, 2020
Previous studies about corona virus antibodies found that their levels reduce after a few months, suggesting that any potential virus immunity may not last long. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the United States' top infectious disease expert, explained that immunity to other known corona viruses usually lasts only three to six months.
"It may be completely different with this coronavirus," he said.
"It may be that people induce a response that's quite durable. But if it acts like common corona viruses, it likely is not going to be a very long duration of immunity," he further explained.
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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.
