One may get reinfected with Covid-19 if antibodies against the infection reduce in the person’s body within five months after recovery, PTI reported on Tuesday, quoting Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research. “That is why it is important to wear [a] mask and take precautions even if one was infected earlier,” Bhargava said.
He also reiterated the medical body’s 100-day criteria to identify a case of reinfection. “The criteria to identify a reinfection case is somewhere between 90 and 100 days. WHO has not yet decided the number of days. However, we’re taking cut-off of about 100 days,” Bhargava said, adding that about 24 cases of reinfection have been recorded across the world.
Last week, ICMR had pointed out that such cases of reinfection of the virus were few – one in Ahmedabad and two in Mumbai.
Bhargava said some studies suggested that antibodies last for three months while some others have shown that they may last for up to five months.
A recent study published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases found evidence that Covid-19 patients might develop more severe symptoms in case of reinfection. The study based its observations on the case of a 25-year old American man who got reinfected, with the second infection resulting in hospitalisation with oxygen support. However the study noted that the single case “does not provide generalisability” of the observations.
Meanwhile, India’s Covid-19 case count on Wednesday rose to 76,51,107, with 54,044 new infections in 24 hours. The country’s toll rose by 717 to 1,15,914.
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