Researcher’s error: infection with Corona impossible

Can you be infected with the corona virus several times? This question has been of concern to the whole world since the pandemic. South Korean researchers claimed that patients became infected a second time – now they admitted serious errors in the study.

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There is growing evidence that a new infection with Sars-CoV-2 after surviving Covid-19 disease is not possible at least for a certain period of time. Until recently, however, there were reports from South Korea, among others, that reports of secondary infections. Now the researchers admitted: The results are wrong, the scientists have corrected the study and are certain: One second infection with Sars-CoV-2 is not possible immediately after the first infection. But that doesn’t have to be the case forever.

South Korean researchers were wrong: no double infection possible

There were 277 cases in South Korea alone with suspected second infection with the new coronavirus after recently recovering from Covid-19 disease. Now it is clear: The South Korean researchers were wrong – and this confirms what virologist Christian Drosten also insisted: after being infected with the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, in most cases, antibodies form that the patient first once immune to a new infection. At least for at least two years, Drosten predicts.

The scientists from South Korea are now jumping on this train after they thought that the virus could be “reactivated” in the body. A kind of “flare” of the infection had shown results from tests on the 277 patients.

The reason would be an uncontrolled mutation of the virus. The new type of corona virus has already mutated – but mutations do not necessarily have to do any damage or be so enormous that the antibodies formed can no longer do anything. In addition, genetic analyzes of the virus had been carried out in South Korea and no significant changes were found.

Instead, there were measurement errors in the relapse patients, which have now been admitted, the researchers at the South Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, as “Sky News” reported.

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Coronaviruses do not penetrate the host cell nucleus: reactivation is impossible

Instead, it is “impossible” for Sars-CoV-2 to be reactivated in the human body. That is in the nature of the corona viruses. Unlike viruses such as HIV and chickenpox (a form of herpes virus) – these penetrate the nucleus of human cells and can rest there for years until they are activated – coronaviruses would not get there.

“This means that it does not cause chronic infection or relapse,” said Dr. Oh Myoung-don, the head of the CDC committee, told Sky News. Accordingly, it is unlikely that patients will relapse.

But: not immune forever

But that doesn’t mean that you are now immune forever. Because it can still happen that the new type of corona virus continues to mutate and thus possibly become “weaker”, but possibly also become more aggressive – and that the antibodies formed can then no longer cope so well. So it happens regularly with the flu virus, which changes so quickly that new infections are always possible. In this case the vaccine has to be revised again and again.

With the novel corona virus, researchers currently expect immunity from several months to a few years.

So you are most likely immune after the coronavirus infection. This confirms the previous assumptions. Christian Drosten had already held on to some immunity after Covid 19 disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) had recently commented critically – but also to scrutinize immunity certificates after coronavirus infection, as suggested by Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn. What else is going on in terms of corona virus? Have a look at our topic page.