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Weve learned an incredible amount about thenew coronavirusdisease (COVID-19), but many uncertainties still linger.
Getty / Carol Yepes
One key unanswered question: If you recover from the new coronavirus, is reinfection possible?
Or does getting it once make you immune to getting the disease again?
Does this mean there is little hope of beating this thing that has completely upended our lives?
There is no evidence that reinfection has ever occurred in a person, Rasmussen says.
Instead, there are a number of other alternatives that could explain what were seeing.
It may involve a false positive or negative.
They dont necessarily look for the live virus itself.
However, theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) has been clear that both are a possibility.
If youd previously gotten a negative result, this could be confusing.
The quality of the data is based on the quality of the sample, Menachery says.
Experts are considering if the virus can hide out in the body, then reactivate.
Its a valid thought since this is known to happen with some other viruses.
But viruses that do this are generally DNA viruses while SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus.
DNA viruses include theherpes virusesthat can cause sores on your mouth or genitalia as well as the chickenpox virus.
Lets take that last one as an example to explore how this mechanism really works.
Sequestered in these cells, viral replication stops.
The viruses turn off most viral gene expression and effectively hide out from the immune system, says Rasmussen.
Rasmussen also notes that we dont know exactly what causes reactivation.
According to theMayo Clinic, shingles risk factors can include being older than 50 and immune deficiency.
I am skeptical it would happen, says Menachery.
Further, Rasmussen notes that both reinfection and such rapid reactivation seem biologically unlikely.
Still, she acknowledges we have much to learn about immunity for this infection.
Experts arent sure chronic infection is possible.
Chronic infection is similar to latency, but the virus isnt necessarily dormant within a host cell.
There are other mechanisms by which RNA viruses establish chronic infections, Rasmussen says.
Think more along the lines ofHIV, which can replicate in the body for an extended period of time.
It can takeup to 12 weeksto develop hepatitis C symptoms, if ever.
Experts arent sure about the odds of getting reinfected after a longer period of recovery.
Most of the current discussion has focused on the possibility of reinfection shortly after recovery.
But what about months or more?
What we don’t yet know is the level of protection or how long it will last.
We are working with scientists around the world to better understand the body’s response to COVID-19 infection.
So far, no studies have answered these important questions.
Long-term studies are needed to confirm this.
How can we eventually figure this out?
Menachery adds, As more data comes out, we’ll have a better picture.
What does this mean for you if you have or have had the coronavirus?
The situation with coronavirus is evolving rapidly.
