A Systematic Review of COVID-19 Reinfections
DISCOVERIES REPORTS (ISSN 2393249X), 2021, volume 4

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CITATION: Haq AU, Bashir I, Ikhlaq A, Arshad AR, Ijaz F, Haq AU, Aftab RK. A Systematic Review of COVID-19 Reinfections. Discoveries Reports, 2021; 4: e21. DOI: 10.15190/drep.2021.6  Submitted: Jan 1, 2021; Revised: April 5, 2021; Accepted: April 23, 2021; Published: June 30, 2021;

A Systematic Review of COVID-19 Reinfections

Aizaz Ul Haq (1), Imtiaz Bashir (2), Azal Ikhlaq (2), Abdul Rehman Arshad (2), Farhat Ijaz (3,*), Anwar Ul Haq (4), Rana Khurram Aftab (5)

(1) Akhtar Saeed Medical College, Lahore. Pakistan
(2) CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan
(3) Department of Physiology, CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan
(4) Lahore General Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan
(5) Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore, Pakistan

* Corresponding author: Dr. Farhat Ijaz, MBBS, MPhil.Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology,CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan. Email: farhat_khurram_rana@cmhlahore.edu.pk

Abstract

The In this review, we have summarized available data on SARS-CoV-2 reinfection and discussed the possible explanations for this phe-nomenon. A systematic review of literature was conducted concluding that although rare, COVID-19 reinfections are indeed possible, generally tend to occur in immunocompromised individuals and frequently involve a new variant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We suggest that this may be due to re-exposure, co-infections, or prolonged viral shedding due to a known or unknown etiology. We think that the criteria for classifying COVID-19 infection as a reinfection should  be revised, such that either there is genomic evidence of infection with a different strain or there should be a 90 day ‘indefinite period’ time interval between the first and second COVID-19 infection, to avoid confusion with prolonged shedding of the virus.

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