Amid a sudden increase in the COVID-19 infections, a private hospital in Jaipur has successfully treated Rajasthan’s first case of re-infection, which occurred despite the patient having been given the first dose of the vaccine. The unusual case has caught the doctors here by surprise, as the 28-year-old patient had developed a good quantity of antibodies.
The patient, a dental doctor, was admitted to the Rajasthan Hospital here on March 15 after developing moderately severe COVID-19 pneumonia for the second time, with the complaints of cough and high grade fever, which required oxygen. She had received her first jab of vaccine a fortnight ago.
Hospital’s Lung Centre Director Sheetu Singh said here on Saturday this was the fourth case of re-infection in the country and the first in the State. The hospital has sent the patient’s samples to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, to confirm if it was an instance of mutated SARS-CoV-2 or a new strain of the virus.
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The patient was discharged over the week-end after she tested negative following her treatment. Dr. Singh said it was a rapidly progressive disease with the worsening computed tomography (CT) scan shadows and score. “She was initially on oxygen for three days. She improved with specialised care in the intensive care unit and tested negative,” she said.
The patient was earlier infected at a social event on November 15, 2020, and had tested positive. She recovered with treatment and her antibodies were counted at 120, which was a marker of old infection. She later got the vaccine when it was launched for the frontline health workers.
Dr. Singh said a noteworthy aspect in the case was that she was re-infected despite her previous treatment and vaccination. “It means that we should be cautious and maintain hand hygiene, use face masks and adhere to social distancing,” she said.
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