3 more cases tested positive again after being declared cured

Accordingly,Case 74 (Patient 74)tested positive again after recovering from the disease, quarantined at home. Patient 74 (23 years old, Tan Trung Hamlet - Lam Thao Town - Lam Thao - Phu Tho), on March 18, 2020, showed symptoms of cough, fever, no difficulty breathing, was sampled for testing, positive for SARS-CoV-2. The patient was transferred to Bac Ninh Provincial General Hospital for treatment. After 3 days, the patient had no fever, no difficulty breathing, no respiratory failure.

On April 10, 2020, the patient tested negative twice in a row for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, meeting the criteria to be declared cured, transferred for monitoring, and continued isolation for 14 days at his home in Phu Tho.

During the quarantine period, the patient had no fever, no cough, no difficulty breathing. On April 25, 2020, after 14 days of home quarantine, Patient 74 was tested, the result was suspected positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus, and was transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases for monitoring and treatment.

During the quarantine period, Patient 74 complied with home quarantine and had contact with family members. Currently, F1 subjects who came into contact with Patient 74 have been quarantined.

Previously, according to the report of the Treatment Subcommittee of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, there were 5 patients who tested positive again after being declared cured. Illustrative photo

Patient 207was declared cured by Cu Chi Field Hospital on April 18; This patient was admitted to the hospital on April 1 and tested negative three times (April 13, 15 and 17, 2020); On April 18, the patient met the conditions to be declared cured. On April 25, 2020, he was monitored at home and tested again and the result was positive again.

Patient 224was declared cured by Cu Chi Field Hospital on April 18. This patient was admitted to the hospital on March 30 and had 5 negative tests (April 12, 13, 15, 15 and 16, 2020). The patient met the conditions to be declared cured on April 18. On April 23, 2020, after being monitored at home, he was tested again and the results came back positive.

Regarding more information about healthy people who carry the disease or cases that test negative for SARS-CoV-2 virus and then test positive again, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long - Permanent Deputy Minister of Health said that there are several professional issues with these cases. Firstly, the patient may not have fully recovered, and during the treatment process, the pathogen has not been completely eliminated, and the virus still exists in the body, especially in the lung mucosal cells.

Second, there is the possibility that people who have recovered from the disease but in the process of eliminating the virus but in an inactive form - the virus body. When amplifying the gene, we identify the virus gene. In this case, the pathogen is eliminated but the pathogen is not active.

Third is healthy people carrying the virus (there is currently one case). Up to now, we have not been able to confirm for sure whether healthy people carry the virus or not, but it is in that form. This can happen when the human body has not produced enough antibodies to be able to control, control and destroy this virus.

“We have requested the agencies that all cases that test negative and then test positive will be sent to two labs to culture the virus. If the virus is alive and growing, it proves that the person has not recovered from the disease,” Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Long emphasized.