Can Coronavirus infect the same person for the second time? (How important is the second time Covid 19 test)

 

Can Coronavirus infect the same person for the second time? (How important is the second time Covid 19 test):- 

People are generally puzzled about questions like after how many days one should go for the second Covid 19 test once the person is diagnosed positive. Generally, the doctors and the medical experts say it should be done after 14 days. However, the scientists who are researching and acquiring more knowledge on the coronavirus, informed that, they are still unsure about the "14 days", as the virus is new and research is still in progress.

Now the question is, can the same person be tested positive twice?

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), which is part of the US Department for health, confirmed that re-infection has been detected but is very rare as updated on March 2021. Now, interestingly, why this topic arose is because when a person goes for a second test, in some cases the test results come out to be positive. So people are wondering if the person had been re-infected. What CDC answers to this question is that the virus remains in the body for 3 months. In the initial stage, the patient’s viral load and the symptoms are at the peak, but with time, the symptoms and the viral load subside and the patient recovers and only traces of the virus remain for at least 3 months. So if the recovered patients go for a retesting within these 3 months, the test might come out to be positive as the diagnostic centers can detect these traces of the virus. Hence it is important to understand the difference between re-infection and getting a positive result if the patient goes for a second test within 3 months.

So the CDC declares that testing for the second time within 3 months is unnecessary.

The good news is, the CDC also states patients with such low levels of the virus do not transmit this virus to others.

Patients can be infected for the second time even after 3 months with active Covid 19 viruses that are present in the environment. This is where the vaccination becomes very important. With proper vaccination, proper antibodies are formed and once a person is infected the symptoms are very mild. At least, the person does not have to face hospitalization or ICUs and can opt for home isolation. Covid 19 patients can receive the vaccine after 3 months of recovery as recommended by the National Expert Group of Vaccine Administration. People who are infected with Covid 19 after the first dose should also wait for 3 months after recovery before receiving the second dose.   

To know more about vaccines and some interesting facts click here. 

What else the guidelines say?

The guidelines also mention that the patients with mild to moderate symptoms should be in isolation for 10 days after they are tested positive. The patients with severe symptoms should be kept in isolation for 20 days. The CDC mentions that these new guidelines are based on 15 international and US-based studies to minimize the spread of the virus.

How to read your covid test report

In addition to these guidelines, another way to determine whether a person is positive or not is to check the viral load. This is mentioned in the Covid test report. Viral load is the amount of virus that is present in the blood of the infected person. It is measured as the total number of virus in each milliliter of blood. This is expressed as the CT value. CT value is determined by RT-PCR tests for Sars-cov-2. CT value is the number of cycles after which the virus in the blood is detected. Hence higher the CT value, the lower is the viral load in the blood.

For more information on what you should do once you are tested positive for Covid 19 click here. 

According to ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research), if the CT value of the patient is more than 35 then the person may be considered as negative. All patients with CT values below 35 are considered positive.

Sample or Control	Ct cutoff
Positive Control	Ct value <= 35
Negative Control	Ct value >= 35

Below is the real report of a Covid 19  positive patient displayed after acquiring the patient’s consent.

Conclusion:

To sum up the discussion, we can conclude that there is a big difference between re-infection of Covid 19 and results coming out to be positive on re-testing with 3 months. Hence testing for the second time within the 3 months is unnecessary after the patient is first diagnosed and the daily activities can be resumed after isolation for 20 days. However, if the symptoms are back then consultation with the treating doctor and a re-testing become necessary.  

To learn more about what medical equipment you need once you are tested positive click here. 

The patient may still shed particles of virus through a process called "Viral Shedding". Viral shedding takes place while the person talks exhales, eats and performs other normal activities. Viral shedding is at the peak for the first 5 days and gradually subsides and it becomes minimum after 10 days. Hence the patient is advised to continue to take all the necessary precautionary measures even if he resumes normal activities after home isolation.