Japanese woman reinfected with Covid-19 weeks after recovery

[denem]

Japanese woman reinfected with Covid-19 weeks after recovery

TOKYO (Reuters): A woman working as a tour bus guide in Japan tested positive for Covid-19 for a second time, Osaka's prefectural government said on Wednesday (Feb 26), the first person in the country to be reinfected amid growing concerns about the spread of the infection. ...

The woman, a resident of Osaka in western Japan, tested positive on Wednesday after developing a sore throat and chest pain, the prefectural government said in a statement, describing her as being in her 40s. She first tested positive in late January and was discharged from the hospital after recovering on Feb 1, according to the statement.

The health ministry confirmed the case was the first in Japan where a patient tested positive for coronavirus for a second time after being discharged from hospital, the Nikkei newspaper said.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato said in Parliament that the central government would need to review patient lists and keep tabs on the condition of those previously discharged, as health experts analysed the implications of testing positive for the virus after an initial recovery.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2020/02/27/japanese-woman-reinfected-with-covid-19-weeks-after-recovery

[SunSeeker]

1. Sounds like she never got completely rid of the virus, rather than a reinfection. nt

[denem]

2. "I'm not certain that this is not bi-phasic, like anthrax,"

Prof Philip Tierno Jr, professor of microbiology and pathology at New York University School of Medicine.

[Wounded Bear]

3. They're still learning how this one works, apparently...

[SoCalDem]

4. This is what worries me

Since we know very little about this disease, I've wondered if there's any real definitive way to prove that someone has recovered. Does the virus remain dormant for a time and reappear like the herpes virus or once recovered do you have an immunity?

[BigmanPigman]

5. People think that you can get Mono only once

but I know people who had a relapse and the second time was worse than the first. Is Mono a virus?

[denem]

6. Yes, mono is a virus.

EBV - the Epstein-Barr virus.

[BigmanPigman]

7. I had that for 6 months

since it was never properly diagnosed. I was down to 85 lbs, had yellow eyes and my doctor wanted to put me on a NO fat diet. I told her I would disappear all together. It wasn't recurring it just never went away until my body finally healed itself.

[denem]

8. Yikes.

I used to think - 'the kissing disease' - no biggie, until my brother-in-law told me what he went through as a teenager. Terrible stuff.

[BigmanPigman]

9. I was 45 and no one I knew had it.

That is one reason they couldn't figure out what I had, I didn't fit the profile. The funny thing is that the only good doctor who was finally able to figure it yelled for his nurse to come in and look at my test results and they said in unison, "Another one!" since another woman in her 40s recently had it too. I have hardly any immune system these days since I was an Elem School as a teacher. Black mold, pneumonia with severe blood loss, etc. I had everything. That's why I can't teach anymore...it'll kill me.

[denem]

10. I am so sorry.

Thank you for being a teacher, putting in for our children's future.

[BigmanPigman]

11. And I didn't miss a day of school.

Also, I couldn't wear my clothes since I dropped down to 83 lbs (and I was eating normally).

[denem]

12. :hugs:

[Duppers]

22. Goodness!! So sorry.

You've been through a wringer. 😟

I've had ME/CFS for 40+ yrs. Am a magnitude better than when I experienced the first awful onset. However, it's something I've never totally recovered from because the virus altered my immune system. Symptoms come in fairly rare bouts now. If I become too stressed/too exhausted or even inundated with too many allergens like mold, my body temp increases a fraction and the night sweats and extreme fatigue begin. I'll most likely die if I contract Coronavirus because, besides ME, I have two other comorbidities.


For anyone wondering:
https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/index.html

[BigmanPigman]

25. When I had misdiagnosed Mono for so long

I didn't miss a day of school since I thought my doctor must know what she was doing and I was always tired when I was healthy since dealing 6 year olds all day is exhausting normally. People told me "you're always tired" but this time my eyes were yellow and I went down to 85 lbs and my EX-doctor still couldn't diagnose me, an internist did months later.

My friend's adult daughter finally was diagnosed recently with the same thing you have and she feels guilty now for not taking her daughters "I'm tired" complaints seriously.

[LittleGirl]

13. I have chronic EBV

and wasn’t diagnosed the first time in 81 when I was sick for months. Doc and I thought it was strep.
Fast forward to 2015 when I was diagnosed with recurrent virus problems and EBV.

[sprinkleeninow]

14. Same here.

[LiberalLoner]

15. EBV is a bad virus.

I had it when I was 11 and I swear that’s when my MS started. There is some kind of link between EBV and MS. They think it’s one of the triggers for MS.

Anyway I was so sick and weak for a month and I was never the same. That was around the time I started transitioning into adolescence, so I thought my never ending fatigue and penchant for falling asleep on my feet every day around three or four, was due to becoming a woman. I thought, oh, so this is what it’s like to be a grownup. No wonder so many grownups are grouchy, they are tired and achey like this all the time.

But nope, it was most likely the MS kicking in. I remember having numb spots on my body, like one part of my leg would be numb for a week and then be fine. Or I would be standing around and suddenly fall down for no reason, but then be able to get back up and I would be fine. I just thought, oh bodies do weird things sometimes. I would have moments when my brain wouldn’t work, like all of a sudden I’d forget a word I wanted to used in the middle of a sentence. It was so embarrassing for me but I just figured I was an idiot, didn’t think there was anything medically wrong with me.

Anyway, EBV had a bad effect on me, if you include it being a trigger for the MS.

So I wonder, will this Coronavirus do that to people? Will it be a trigger to start autoimmune diseases in people? Or become a lifelong ailment, like cold sores?

[denem]

16. We know very little about this coronavirus

It's been sequenced - 75% is common with SARS - and there's 3 months of observations since first diagnosed in December. That's about it. It would seem unlikely that it compromises the immune system like EBV, or can hide like Herpes, but no-one really knows much more than it's family - coronavirus.

[LiberalLoner]

17. Thank you for this information!

[LittleGirl]

18. I have thyroid disease

And hormone imbalance triggered it and EBV complicated it.
Hugs

Do you know about Terry Wahls?

[LiberalLoner]

19. Oh yes, I have all her books!

I’m so sorry you have thyroid disease. I have to take levothyroxine myself but it’s very stable and under control.

[LittleGirl]

20. I'm stable now

but I still struggle with menopause and allergies. My medication is dialed in and I have managed to get my vitamin deficiencies under control too.
I swear, I've been sick all my life. It's boring and sucks.

Glad you know about her. I hope she helped you. Cheers!

[I_UndergroundPanther]

21. I take levothyroxine too.

Do you get up really early around 5:30 am to take it?

[LiberalLoner]

24. No, just whenever I wake up...

[Azathoth]

23. Reinfection is not unheard-of

Some people catch the same cold twice. Not common, but it can happen.

This woman also may not have fully cleared the virus the first time. It's possible a small number of cases could become chronic, also not an unheard-of phenomenon.

It's gonna take some time before we really understand this virus.