Bhubaneswar: Study to be conducted on reinfection causing SARS-CoV-2 strain

BHUBANESWAR: Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) Bhubaneswar director Ajay Parida on Friday said that they will conduct study to figure out which strain of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is causing reinfection among the Covid recovered persons.
“We have witnessed three cases of reinfection. Three people had tested positive for Covid-19 earlier and later got recovered from this disease. After three months, they again tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Similarly, negligible cases have been reported from other laboratories too,” said Parida.
He said they have the earlier samples of the infected persons. “We will again collect fresh samples of these people for research purpose. We will study to figure out which strain of the Coronavirus is causing the reoccurrence of the Covid cases. We will also find out whether the previous strain has caused the reinfection or different strain of the virus,” he added.
Parida said they will also study whether the virus strain causing reinfection is more virulent than the earlier one or not. “We have the case studies of three persons. If we get more, we will include that cases in our study. But I can say that reinfection cases are negligible,” he added.
The ILS director said there are chances of getting reinfected by Covid, but the incident of reinfection is very low. Covid recovered people should also take all precautions to prevent reinfection danger. “There is a misconception that Covid does not affect a person once infected by this virus. A person after getting recovered from this disease should also follow the physical distancing and other Covid guidelines,” he added.
Nilagiri MLA Sukanta Nayak, 54, had first tested positive for Covid-19 on July 6 and had been discharged from hospital after 10 days. After a gap of over two months, Nayak had again tested positive for Covid on September 26. Similarly, senior BJD leader and MLA Debi Prasad Mishra had first tested positive for Covid-19 on August 30, and again on September 27.
Parida said the state was reporting more than 4,000 Covid cases per day a few days ago but it has come down to 1500 cases now. “We were expecting increasing of cases after the festive season, but the proper precautions followed by the people and the administration lowered the cases,” he added.
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