Daijiworld Media Network - Belagavi (SHP)

Belagavi, May 13: The first case of coronavirus relapse in Karnataka has surfaced, creating panic among the state health officials. The case is of a 50-year-old man from Belagavi who had tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 on April 16. The man reported to be the patient 298 (P-298), had contracted the disease from a man based out of Raibag, who is believed to have been infected by someone who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat gathering, a report by TNM states.

The 50-year-old was discharged after testing negative twice for the virus. He also did not display any symptoms thereafter and was released on May 4. However, his symptoms resurfaced the next day, on May 5. Following this, he was tested again, with his samples returning positive. The man has been re-admitted to the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment. It has been reported that the man also suffers from cardiac ailments.

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Although this is the first such case in Karnataka for COVID-19, relapses of the infection have been confirmed in other Asian countries of South Korea, China and Japan.

Earlier on April 24, a statement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said, “There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.”

Dr Girdhar Gyani, founder of the Association of Healthcare Providers and a member of the National Task Force for COVID-19, said that although it is not a novel phenomenon, cases of relapse in India have been rare.

“Once a patient recovers, it does not mean that he is immune to the disease. He was not given any vaccine as well. Until a time comes when we have access to a vaccine, the person who has recovered has to follow the same safety protocols as anybody else,” Gyani said.

“We have to understand that we have to adapt to a new way of life by which the population of 60 years and above have to be protected and the rest have to maintain hand hygiene and social distancing,” he added.

However, Belagavi District Health Officer Dr SV Munal denied the case of reinfection. “Since the man is a high-risk patient and had other medical complications, he was not allowed to go home. After he was discharged from the Belgaum Institute of Medical Sciences, he was kept under observation at a Taluk level hospital, where his cardiac conditions exacerbated. So he was taken back to BIMS, where he tested positive again,” he said.

“This is not a case of reinfection. Positivity and negativity will depend on the viral load. Sometimes, during recovery, the viral load goes down and it resurfaces. He is currently being closely monitored as earlier as he is a high-risk patient due to his comorbidities.”

A new discharge protocol released states that a patient with severe symptoms will be discharged only after clinical recovery. It is also imperative that the patient tests negative once for the virus.