COVID-19: Is reinfection possible?

Authors

  • Aratã Oliveira Cortez Costa Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Institute of Drugs and Medicines Research, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
  • Humberto de Carvalho Aragão Neto Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Institute of Drugs and Medicines Research, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
  • Ana Paula Lopes Nunes Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Institute of Drugs and Medicines Research, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
  • Ricardo Dias de Castro Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Institute of Drugs and Medicines Research, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Paraíba, Campus I, 58051-970, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil, Phone +55-83-32167742. Fax: +55-83-32167175. E-mail: rcastro@ccs.ufpb.br https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7986-7376
  • Reinaldo Nóbrega de Almeida Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Institute of Drugs and Medicines Research, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2021-3383

Keywords:

SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, pandemic, reinfection, recurrence, recover

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly in many countries, overburdening health systems and causing numerous economic and social impacts. Most studies on the subject have focused on epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment, however, there remains a scientific gap concerning the possibility of reinfection. The purpose of this bibliographic review is to gather information from studies aimed at this possibility, and to clarify what we know so far. It was found that in many situations cured patients are being released from hospitals, however, in some cases, the discharge criteria are not effective. Patients are presenting positive RT-PCR tests. There are several factors that might interfere so that patients cured of COVID-19 continue to test positive, and this would not necessarily represent a case of recurrence, as the test cannot differentiate the viral RNA from the complete virus, which alone is capable of causing the active infection. This review demonstrates that in order to rule out the possibility of COVID-19 reinfection in cured patients, more robust methods need to be adopted as criteria for both clinical discharge and post-hospital follow-up.

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Published

2021-03-02

How to Cite

Costa, A. O. C., de Carvalho Aragão Neto, H., Lopes Nunes, A. P. ., Dias de Castro, R., & Nóbrega de Almeida, R. (2021). COVID-19: Is reinfection possible?. EXCLI Journal, 20, 522–536. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2021-3383

Issue

Vol. 20 (2021)

Section

Review articles

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Aratã Oliveira Cortez Costa, Humberto de Carvalho Aragão Neto, Ana Paula Lopes Nunes, Ricardo Dias de Castro, Reinaldo Nóbrega de Almeida

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