In a worrying development, a private hospital has reported the first case of Covid-19 re-infection in Bengaluru. According to a statement released by Fortis Hospital, a 27-year-old woman who had recovered from Covid-19 in July, has tested positive again.
The hospital said that the patient has no history of co-morbidities and was tested positive in the month of July after she developed mild symptoms of fever and cough. She had recovered well and was discharged after being tested negative. Now, after a month, she again developed mild symptoms and tested positive.
Doctors say, in case of infection, the Covid Immunoglobulin G antibody is tested positive after two to three weeks of infection. However in this patient, the antibody has tested negative, which means she did not develop immunity after infection.
Re-infection essentially means that antibodies may not be produced by the individual or if they do develop antibodies, they may not last long enough, and therefore, allows the virus to enter the body and cause the disease again.