Know How ICMR Defines SARS-CoV-2 Re-Infection

New Delhi: Two positive tests at an interval of at least 102 days with one interim negative test have been defined as SARS-CoV-2 re-infection by Indian scientists for establishing surveillance systems, according to an ICMR study.

But a confirmation of the re-infection will require a whole-genome sequencing, it stated, according to media reports.

While SARS-CoV-2 re-infection is still a rare phenomenon, Indian scientists have developed an easy-to-use epidemiological definition of re-infection for establishing surveillance systems. According to the study ‘SARS-CoV-2 re-infection: development of an epidemiological definition from India’ which has been published by Cambridge in the Epidemiology and Infection journal, an investigation was conducted with the objective to develop an epidemiological case definition of possible SARS CoV-2 re-infection and assess its magnitude in India.

SARS-CoV-2 re-infection is an emerging concern and there is a need to define it, the scientists highlighted. Therefore, a working epidemiological case definition for re-infection was developed and its magnitude was explored via an archive-based, telephonic survey, the reports added.

The epidemiological case definition for SARS-CoV-2 reinfection was developed from a literature review of data on viral kinetics.