CAPE TOWN –
Durban-based general practitioner Dr Yuvan Maharaj confirmed that his patient tested positive for Covid-19 three months after recovering from the initial infection.
The patient tested positive on March 19 after traveling through north Africa and recovered following two weeks of isolation.
Maharaj said that results from July 14 indicated his patient had been infected a second time, although without extreme symptoms, and that those who are reinfected are carriers of the virus and posed a risk to others.
“The patient again contacted me to say that her colleague had tested positive for the virus and she was exposed to them. She had minimal symptoms but I advised her to go get tested,” said Maharaj.
“We don’t know what reinfections will do to our patients, considering South Africa’s health system and disease profiling.
“Tuberculosis, HIV and diabetes is prevalent in our communities and South Africans face a number of medical issues, from pediatrics to geriatrics.
“There is also the socio-economic issue that makes our country unique. This is uncharted territory for us all,” he said.
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