Second infection from coronavirus claimed to be ‘much less severe’ than first
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There is reason to believe that in the event of reinfection with the new coronavirus (Covid-19), it will be “much less severe than the first,” said Belgian virologist Emmanuel André during the daily press briefing.
“There are reports that some people who have had a confirmed infection do not develop enough antibodies to be detected by laboratory tests that show them,” André said on Wednesday, referring to the statement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that not all people infected with the coronavirus develop sufficient antibodies to be considered immune.
“There are also reports that some people have been infected for the first time and are subsequently re-detected with the virus,” he added.
However, at the moment, those reports “are not entirely clear” whether the detection of the virus “is simply related to remnants of the virus from the previous infection or whether it is a re-infection,” André said.
If it is the second option, there is reason to believe “that this second episode will be much less severe than the first because there will have been a first contact with the virus,” he said, adding that the evolution of knowledge about the virus is still a work in progress.
