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Journal of Medical Microbiology logo Journal of Medical Microbiology

Volume 71, Issue 10

A retrospective cross-sectional observational study of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in La Ribera Health Department, Valencia, Spain Open Access

Abstract

. The possibility of reinfection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a widely proven fact and may have clinical implications.

. It is not known whether there have been cases of reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 in La Ribera Health Department.

To determine whether there have been cases of reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 in La Ribera Health Department and to identify their characteristics.

. Retrospective cross-sectional observational study of cases of reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 in the population of La Ribera Department between March 2020 and February 2021. The positive baseline cohort includes all cases positive by RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2, with reinfection cases being those that, after resolution of the first episode according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, presented a new positive RT-PCR result.

. Out of a total of 15 687 cases with positive RT-PCR, 40 were considered to be reinfections, which meant a cumulative incidence of 0.255 % and an incidence density of 5.05 cases per 100 000 person-days. Most of the cases occurred during the highest incidence peaks of the pandemic in the department. Seventy-five per cent of the patients in these cases were older than 40 years, 42.5 % were healthcare professionals or nursing home residents and 12.5 % had an immunosuppressive comorbidity. There were no severe, critical or death cases. In the reinfection episodes, with respect to the first episode, there was a tendency to be milder, they required fewer days of hospitalization, their RT-PCR became negative earlier, they developed a greater humoral response and the sick leave period was shorter. The median period between the RT-PCR in the first episode and the RT-PCR in the second episode was 127.5 days (range: 48–301; IQR: 89.5–256.25)

. SARS-CoV-2 reinfection cases are rare, tend to be mild and can occur within a median period of 127.5 days.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): COVID-19 , reinfection and SARS-CoV-2
© 2022 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The Microbiology Society waived the open access fees for this article.
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2022-10-27
2025-01-21
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/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.001599
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A retrospective cross-sectional observational study of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in La Ribera Health Department, Valencia, Spain
J. Med. Microbiol. 71, 001599 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001599
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.001599
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.001599
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