A new positive SARS-CoV-2 test months after severe COVID-19 illness: reinfection or intermittent viral shedding?
Jessica Tuan, Anne Spichler-Moffarah, Onyema Ogbuagu
Author Information
Jessica Tuan: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA Jessica.Tuan@Yale.Edu. ORCID
Anne Spichler-Moffarah: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Onyema Ogbuagu: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
We present a case of a patient who had a history of severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) 4 months prior to this current presentation and, after a long asymptomatic period, subsequently tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) by a RNA PCR assay, after several interval negative SARS-CoV-2 RNA tests. We present this potential case of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in order to incite discussion around differentiating persistent infection with intermittent viral shedding and reinfection, as well as to discuss evolving knowledge and approaches to the clinical management, follow-up molecular testing and treatment of COVID-19 reinfection.
