key: cord-0847192-99cgvtlu authors: Kang, Hanyujie; Wang, Yishan; Tong, Zhaohui; Liu, Xuefeng title: Retest positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA of “recovered” patients with COVID‐19: Persistence, sampling issues, or re‐infection? date: 2020-06-09 journal: J Med Virol DOI: 10.1002/jmv.26114 sha: dc44a3dc4a97c4a437f989e66567c83e37e84326 doc_id: 847192 cord_uid: 99cgvtlu “Retest Positive” for severe acute respiratory syndrome‐related coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) from “recovered” coronavirus disease‐19 (COVID‐19) has been reported and raised several important questions for this novel coronavirus and COVID‐19 disease. In this commentary, we discussed several questions: (a) Can SARS‐CoV‐2 re‐infect the individuals who recovered from COVID‐19? This question is also associated with other questions: whether or not SARS‐CoV‐2 infection induces protective reaction or neutralized antibody? Will SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines work? (b) Why could some recovered patients with COVID‐19 be re‐tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA? (c) Are some recovered pwith atients COVID‐19 with re‐testing positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA infectious? and (d) How should the COVID‐19 patients with retest positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 be managed? is also associated with other questions: whether or not SARS-CoV-2 infection induces protective reaction or neutralized antibody? Will SARS-CoV-2 vaccines work? Host immune response to pathogens may prevent progression to from subsequent re-exposures. 18 Previous study showed that immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody peaked at month 4 after the onset of SARS, IgG antibodies persisted for 16 months in all patients. In patients with COVID-19, antibodies were also detected in patients' blood after being infected by SARS-CoV-2, the immunity lasted for at least 7 days following remission of symptoms. 21 SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing antibodies were detected in patients from day 10 to 15 after the onset of the disease and remained thereafter. The titers of these antibodies among these patients correlated with the spike-binding antibodies targeting S1, receptor-binding domain, and S2 regions, although antibody titers were variable in different patients. 16 Therefore, it is needed for further studies in animal and human for long time follow-up to rule out the possibility for re-infection of SARS-CoV-2. Positive RT-PCR test results in patients recovered from COVID-19 Persistence and clearance of viral RNA in 2019 novel coronavirus disease rehabilitation patients Positive result of Sars-Cov-2 in sputum from a cured patient with COVID-19 Prolonged SARS-Cov-2 RNA detection in anal/rectal swabs and stool specimens in COVID-19 patients after negative conversion in nasopharyngeal RT-PCR Test Letter to the Editor: three cases of redetectable positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA in recovered COVID-19 patients with antibodies The clinical characteristic of eight patients of COVID-19 with positive RT-PCR test after discharge Recurrence of positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA in COVID-19: a case report Clinical characteristics of the recovered COVID-19 patients with re-detectable positive RNA test. medRxiv Recurrence of SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity in COVID-19 patients: a single center experience and potential implications. medRxiv Combination of RT-qPCR testing and clinical features for diagnosis of COVID-19 facilitates management of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study Clinical characteristics of 138 hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia in Wuhan Clinical presentation and virological assessment of hospitalized cases of coronavirus disease 2019 in a travel-associated transmission cluster. medRxiv Potent binding of 2019 novel coronavirus spike protein by a SARS coronavirus-specific human monoclonal antibody Temporal profiles of viral load in posterior oropharyngeal saliva samples and serum antibody responses during infection by SARS-CoV-2: an observational cohort study Neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in a COVID-19 recovered patient cohort and their implications. medRxiv Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients of novel coronavirus disease Reinfection could not occur in SARS-CoV-2 infected rhesus macaques Susceptibility of the elderly to SARS-CoV-2 infection: ACE-2 overexpression, shedding, and antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) Understanding SARS-CoV-2-mediated inflammatory responses: from mechanisms to potential therapeutic tools Breadth of concomitant immune responses prior to patient recovery: a case report of non-severe COVID-19 Serological test is an efficient supplement for detecting RNA to confirm SARS-CoV-2 infection