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. 2020 Dec 15;9(5):79–90. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v9.i5.79

Table 1.

Identified reinfection risk of novel coronavirus

ID Ref. Type of study Country Study population Reinfection outcome
ReCoVery
Death
Unknown
Other findings
1 Alizargar et al[16] Letter to the editor South Korea CoVID-19 patients No No Yes South Korea reported that 116 reCoVered cases of CoVID-19 were found positive again
2 Gousseff et al[25] Letter to the editor France CoVID-19 patients Yes Yes No Between April 6 and May 14, 2020, 11 patients were identified (sex ratio M/F 1.2, median age 55, range 19-91 yr). The median duration of symptoms was 18 (13-41) d for the first episode and 10 d for the second one for the 7 patients who eventually reCoVered
3 Chaturvedi et al[20] Review South Korea CoVID-19 patients No No Yes Concerning reports released from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) have noted that up to 163 patients who were presumed to have reCoVered from SARS-CoV-2 infection ended up testing positive with PCR testing yet again
4 Gomez-Mayordomo et al[30] Short communication Spain A case study in a patient with relapsing-remitting MS treated with fingolimod No No Yes This case suggests that discontinuation of fingolimod during CoVID-19 could imply a worsening of SARS-CoV-2 infection. No information about reinfection
5 Hageman et al[31] Editorial United States CoVID-19 in children Yes No No Limited data suggest that reCoVery might confer immunity
6 Hoang et al[32] Letter to the editor France Patients reCoVered from CoVID-19 No No Yes Recurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in patients who had reCoVered from CoVID-19 has been described. However, it is possible that recurrences could actually be persistent infections in which the PCR resulted falsely negative at discharge
7 Inamo et al[33] Letter of biomedical and clinical research Japan CoVID-19 patients No No Yes -
8 Islam et al[34] Review article Bangladesh CoVID-19 patients No No Yes There is a possibility of reinfection as the humoral immunity weakens over time
9 Kang et al[26] Commentary China CoVID-19 patients No No Yes ReCoVered patients become retest positive due to false-negative PCR or patients did not completely meet discharge criteria or due to dead viruses
10 Kannan et al[35] Review article India Gene study between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-1 and batCoV and MERS-CoV No No Yes Many researchers observed that there is SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in the same treated patients
11 Karimi et al[36] Letter to the editor Iran CoVID-19 patients Yes No No -
12 Kassa et al[37] Analytic article Botswana CoVID-19 patients No No Yes Not related to our topic but it is said “reinfection” by the family of coronavirus is possible
13 Kellam et al[38] Review article United Kingdom Patients with coronavirus infection No No Yes Immediate reinfection is not possible but reinfection of previously mild SARS-CoV-2 cases is a realistic possibility
14 Kirkcaldy et al[39] Viewpoint United States CoVID-19 Patients No No Yes ReCoVery from CoVID-19 might confer immunity against reinfection, at least temporarily
15 Koks et al[40] Commentary Australia CoVID-19 patients No No Yes No information related to our study except “the testing needs to be repeated several times as persons with negative tests could become positive the next day as a result of a new infection or there plication of the virus”
16 Law et al[27] Letter to the editor China/Hong Kong Patients reCoVered from CoVID-19 No No Yes There is currently no supporting evidence for CoVID-19 reinfection after reCoVery but retest can be positive due to several reasons
17 Laxminarayan et al[41] Perspective India CoVID-19 in children No No Yes Reinfection is not probable
18 Leslie et al[42] Letter United States SARS-CoV-2 patients No No Yes Patients with past infection with other coronaviruses that cause common cold may have some immunity to SARS-CoV-2
19 Luo et al[43] Case report China Woman with CoVID-19 Yes No No -
20 Meca-Lallana et al[44] Correspondence Spain CoVID-19 patients with MS No No Yes -
21 Okhuese et al[45] Statistical Nigeria CoVID-19 patients No No Yes There is no secondary reinfection in reCoVered patients. However, some reports have shown there have been a few rare cases of reinfection
22 Omer et al[46] Viewpoint United States CoVID-19 patients in the United States No No Yes True reinfection is unlikely
23 Ota et al[47] In brief United States Rhesus monkeys No No Yes -
24 Ozdinc et al[48] Statistical Turkey Turkish people infected with CoVID-19 No No Yes There is short term immunity
25 Roy et al[17] Review India CoVID-19 patients No No Yes Reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 seems unlikely taking into consideration our knowledge. We must maintain vigilance during the convalescence period and must take into consideration the probability of genetic mutations, as observed, rather than reinfection by the same strain
26 Steinchen et al[49] Case report Germany A case of rheumatoid arthritis and CoVID-19 patient Yes No No A case of rheumatoid arthritis and insufficient compensation is reported under long-term combination therapy with methotrexate and leflunomide. After going through CoVID-19 infection, a new adjustment was made to a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker. No reactivation of the infection has occurred in the short period of time initiated by the initiated bDMARD (biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug) therapy after surviving CoVID-19 infection with positive antibody status. Biologic therapy without mandatory medical indication should not be performed to protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection
27 Ueffing et al[50] Review Germany CoVID-19 patients No No Yes Seven human pathogenic coronaviruses have already been detected in humans, most of which can cause respiratory diseases, but occasionally also conjunctivitis and middle ear infections. Four of the previously known coronaviruses (229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1) typically cause relatively minor symptoms in the context of human infection of the upper respiratory tract. SARS-CoV and the 2012 MERS-CoV lead to severe respiratory diseases and have a significant mortality rate. Experiences with other coronavirus infections (SARS and MERS) indicate that the immunity could persist for several years. Based on animal experiments, already acquired data on other coronavirus types and plausibility, it can be assumed that seroconverted patients have the immunity of limited duration and only a very low risk of reinfection
28 Verhagen et al[51] Research study England and Wales CoVID-19 patients No No Yes Areas face disproportionate risks for CoVID-19 hospitalization pressures due to their socioeconomic differences and the demographic composition of their populations. Our flexible online dashboard allows policymakers and health officials to monitor and evaluate potential health care demand at a granular level as the infection rate and hospital capacity changes throughout the course of this pandemic. This agile knowledge is invaluable to tackle the enormous logistical challenges to re-allocate resources and target susceptible areas for aggressive testing and tracing to mitigate transmission
29 Waltuch et al[52] Case reports United States Children with CoVID-19 infection No No Yes Patients presenting with CoVID-19 associated post-infectious cytokine release syndrome appear to present with prolonged fever (5 d or greater) and GI symptoms with or without rash. This syndrome may overlap with features of Kawasaki Disease and Toxic Shock Syndrome. Patients who present with this clinical picture should have frequent vital signs and will require admission due to the potential for rapid deterioration
30 Tao et al[28] Research study China CoVID-19 patients Yes No No These results implied that the positive result is unlikely caused by the reinfection from others or the remained virus. Rather, it may derive from the remained virus transferred from the lower respiratory tract to the throat or nose with coughing. Accordingly, it is suggested that the specimen detection of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from the lower respiratory tract should be used as the discharge criteria
31 Zhou et al[53] Review China CoVID-19 patients No No Yes Re-fever and positive nucleic acid test after discharge from the hospital might be due to the biological characteristics of 2019-nCoV, and might also be related to the basic disease, clinical status, glucocorticoid use, sampling, processing, and detecting of patients, and some even related to the reinfection or secondary bacterial virus infection

CoVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; F: Female; GI: Gastrointestinal; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; M: Male; MERS-CoV: Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus; MS: Multiple sclerosis; PCR: Polymerase chain reaction; SARS-CoV-2: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.