The woman was infected with Omicron 20 days after she contracted COVID-19

The case of a woman was presented by Spanish scientists at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). There is a break of 20 days between infections The shortest thing doctors know. How is this even possible?

A 31-year-old woman working in the health service was obtained Positive for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 December 20, 2021 (PCR test). She was vaccinated and had a booster shot 12 days earlier. Interestingly, the woman did not show any symptoms of the disease – she was quarantined and then returned to work.

On January 10, 2022, only 20 days after the first positive test resultShe had a cough, fever and general weakness. The PCR test was performed again, and the result was positive. Since the condition was atypical, the doctors decided to take a closer look at it. Whole genome sequencing revealed that the woman was infected with two different strains of SARS-CoV-2 – Delta in December and Omicron in January.

This case highlights the potential of the Omikron variant to avoid previously acquired immunity from natural infection with other variants or a vaccine. In other words, people who have contracted COVID-19 cannot assume that they are protected from reinfection, even if they are fully vaccinated, said Dr. Gemma Risio of the Instituto Catala de Salute in Tarragona.

confirm the aforementioned case The need for genetic control of viruses In cases of infection in fully vaccinated persons and in cases of re-infection. Such monitoring will help detect variants that have the potential to partially evade the immune response.