Bengaluru hospital reports India's first case of coronavirus reinfection: Report

Bengaluru : Fortis Hospital in Bengaluru has reported India's first case of coronavirus reinfection on Saturday. A 27-year-old woman, who had first tested positive for coronavirus in July this year and was discharged upon full recovery, has once again tested positive for the COVID-19 infection.

"This is possibly the first reported case of Covid reinfection in Bangalore," a NDTV report quoted Dr Pratik Patil, an Infectious Diseases Consultant at Fortis Hospital's Bannerghatta Road facility, explaining how the woman developed the disease a second time within a month's time.

"Normally, in case of infection, the Covid Immunoglobulin G antibody test comes positive after 2-3 weeks of infection (showing that the patient has developed Covid-fighting cells). However, in this patient, the antibody test has come out negative, which means she did not develop immunity after first infection. The other possibility is that the antibodies disappeared within a month, leaving her susceptible for reinfection," Dr Patil said, adding that her symptoms after reinfection are mild.

"Reinfection cases mean that the antibodies may not be produced by every individual, or, if they do develop, they may not last long enough, therefore allowing the virus to enter the body and cause the disease again," he said.

The case is a big reason for worry in India as it will become very difficult for authorities to control and end coronavirus infection in the nation; at a time when the nation has registered over 90,000 coronavirus cases in just one day.

It also puts a question mark on the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine.