Concerning news - S Korea

South Korean patients thought cured test positive again
South Korean health authorities say 91 people thought recovered after contracting coronavirus have tested positive for the disease again.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Friday it was not clear why the patients had tested positive for a second time.

KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a news conference it was possible that the virus had “reactivated” in the patients, as opposed to them being re-infected.

Other health experts suggested the patients may have "relapsed” or been misdiagnosed by faulty tests.

The results will be of keen interest internationally, as health experts worldwide hope people infected by Covid-19 will develop immunity to the disease, allowing them to return to work.

So, people who walk around thinking "I am invincible and immune" need to follow this story. Immunity or otherwise has not yet been proven. Suffice to say that, if reinfection, or reactivations are possible then, depending on rates of reinfection and relapsing, we could be in for a long haul.

It's unlike you to post a downbeat story.....

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

It's unlike you to post a downbeat story.....

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It's not helping, is it? I'm not saying that the facts shouldn't be presented, but it does seem that some people are thriving on the bad stories. It's been like a competition on here to see who the biggest tell tale is, the amount of 'I saw' anecdotes going around. I prefer to be a bit more positive and look to the future, while digesting the true nature of this virus. Most people on here will be fine anyway as they don't seem to leave their houses anyway.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

It's unlike you to post a downbeat story.....

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You don't think it may be relevant?

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

It's not helping, is it? I'm not saying that the facts shouldn't be presented, but it does seem that some people are thriving on the bad stories. It's been like a competition on here to see who the biggest tell tale is, the amount of 'I saw' anecdotes going around. I prefer to be a bit more positive and look to the future, while digesting the true nature of this virus. Most people on here will be fine anyway as they don't seem to leave their hou thses anyway.

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Ignorance is bliss as they say. It is a breaking story, it's a significant story. It's hardly as if it is made up, and "telling tales" is as pathetic a remark as I have read on here.

How is me relaying a story about people getting "reinfected" unhelpful. The crap about Icke is unhelpful - if what I posted lacks facts, then I am happy for it to be removed.

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Originally Posted by CCFCC3PO

You don't think it may be relevant?

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Of course it's relevant, but you really do seem to be revelling in this.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

Of course it's relevant, but you really do seem to be revelling in this.

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Disgraceful. Are you really unable to talk about any subject without getting personal.

But, then, you do have form for being unable to cope when you see things you don't like.

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Originally Posted by CCFCC3PO

South Korean patients thought cured test positive again
South Korean health authorities say 91 people thought recovered after contracting coronavirus have tested positive for the disease again.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Friday it was not clear why the patients had tested positive for a second time.

KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a news conference it was possible that the virus had “reactivated” in the patients, as opposed to them being re-infected.

Other health experts suggested the patients may have "relapsed” or been misdiagnosed by faulty tests.

The results will be of keen interest internationally, as health experts worldwide hope people infected by Covid-19 will develop immunity to the disease, allowing them to return to work.

So, people who walk around thinking "I am invincible and immune" need to follow this story. Immunity or otherwise has not yet been proven. Suffice to say that, if reinfection, or reactivations are possible then, depending on rates of reinfection and relapsing, we could be in for a long haul.

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wasn't South Korea and Sweden being held up a beacon of light in there different approach to this issue of self isolation than ours??

How long after the first tests were these second ones taken I wonder? Also, ninety one obviously looks bad, but there is no indication of the total numbers being retested - I've read before that there are always a proportion of people, albeit a very small one, that test positive more than once during a pandemic and I suppose it's possible that in a country that has been testing as often as South Korea has been that 91 is around that percentage - another consequence of testing so much is that the total number of misdiagnoses first time around has to be higher.

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

It's not helping, is it? I'm not saying that the facts shouldn't be presented, but it does seem that some people are thriving on the bad stories. It's been like a competition on here to see who the biggest tell tale is, the amount of 'I saw' anecdotes going around. I prefer to be a bit more positive and look to the future, while digesting the true nature of this virus. Most people on here will be fine anyway as they don't seem to leave their houses anyway.

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What future ?

Only joking heh heh

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Originally Posted by life on mars

wasn't South Korea and Sweden being held up a beacon of light in there different approach to this issue of self isolation than ours??

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In what way do you think the above story is something to beat South Korea up about? China also reported reinfection, although that was largely thought to be because the original diagnosis was wrong. If South Koreans can get reinfected (and this story needs further detail), then it implies that any nations' citizens can get reinfected.

I think this story may have links to some people having exposure to covid-19 are not showing strong antibodies.

Now, I appreciate that some people here see things in black and white - and come up with disgraceful slurs such as me "revelling" in this.

The main reason I posted this story was to alert people who are walking around thinking "I've had it, though I've not been tested. I am immune, because I've had it". They really need to think again - and we have one such poster here (and this is not me attacking the person, I am attacking his belief that he is invincible). He has been very sick recently, by how own admission. It is great he has recovered, but the last thing I want is to see him, and people like him, getting stung by reinfection.

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Originally Posted by CCFCC3PO

Disgraceful. Are you really unable to talk about any subject without getting personal.

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I'm not getting personal. I don't have a clue who you are and I couldn't care less either. I'm just saying that you very definitely seem to be revelling in this.

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

How long after the first tests were these second ones taken I wonder? Also, ninety one obviously looks bad, but there is no indication of the total numbers being retested - I've read before that there are always a proportion of people, albeit a very small one, that test positive more than once during a pandemic and I suppose it's possible that in a country that has been testing as often as South Korea has been that 91 is around that percentage - another consequence of testing so much is that the total number of misdiagnoses first time around has to be higher.

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Watching the Horizon programme last night....scientists seem to have no idea as to how long you are immune from infection once you have had it. Minimum seemed to be 3 months but not enough data yet to come up with anything definite. One line of developing a vaccine is to artificially create the Corona element of the virus (through using the viruses genetic code). Manufacture that inert element, inject people, and their immune response is to create the antibodies to tackle the "virus". The body then remembers its immune response if infected with the whole virus and can stop the real virus entering human cells and reproducing. Clever stuff but still 12 to 18 months before this method could be put into mass use. Plus viruses can mutate in that time.

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

How long after the first tests were these second ones taken I wonder? Also, ninety one obviously looks bad, but there is no indication of the total numbers being retested - I've read before that there are always a proportion of people, albeit a very small one, that test positive more than once during a pandemic and I suppose it's possible that in a country that has been testing as often as South Korea has been that 91 is around that percentage - another consequence of testing so much is that the total number of misdiagnoses first time around has to be higher.

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These are good questions. You see, some people have said immunity could be anything from a few weeks to years based on other coronaviruses.

In terms of numbers, South Korea (along with Singapore and Germany) are one of the countries to get on top of this. I suspect many people are getting retested as there are so many tests taking place there. Whether that retesting is by design or not, I am not sure.

26,000 tests in S Korea in the last 24 hours alone, in a country where positive tests are rarely more than 30 a day.

There is a possibility they were misdiagnosed. However, what this result shows is that it is right to question any assumption that immunity is a byproduct of having the virus.

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Originally Posted by IanD

Watching the Horizon programme last night....scientists seem to have no idea as to how long you are immune from infection once you have had it. Minimum seemed to be 3 months but not enough data yet to come up with anything definite. One line of developing a vaccine is to artificially create the Corona element of the virus (through using the viruses genetic code). Manufacture that inert element, inject people, and their immune response is to create the antibodies to tackle the "virus". The body then remembers its immune response if infected with the whole virus and can stop the real virus entering human cells and reproducing. Clever stuff but still 12 to 18 months before this method could be put into mass use. Plus viruses can mutate in that time.

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Did they mention, in this documentary, the effects of a low period of immunity on the possible success of the vaccine?

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

It's not helping, is it? I'm not saying that the facts shouldn't be presented, but it does seem that some people are thriving on the bad stories. It's been like a competition on here to see who the biggest tell tale is, the amount of 'I saw' anecdotes going around. I prefer to be a bit more positive and look to the future, while digesting the true nature of this virus. Most people on here will be fine anyway as they don't seem to leave their houses anyway.

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You say "it's not helping" but if someone who thinks they are "immune" changes their behaviour based on this story I will say it is completely helpful.

It is, certainly, far more helpful than people recommending to strangers that "going for a drink around your mate's house" is ok when it goes against Government guidelines.

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Originally Posted by CCFCC3PO

Did they mention, in this documentary, the effects of a low period of immunity on the possible success of the vaccine?

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How do you know that your original quoted story from Korea is accurate or just fake news ? You appear to be approaching it as if it is gospel, whereas you actually have no idea
whether it is or not. As stated by someone else, there is always a small proportion in any epidemic who get reinfected. 91 reinfections out of many thousands of cases is almost insignificant.

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Originally Posted by dml1954

How do you know that your original quoted story from Korea is accurate or just fake news ? You appear to be approaching it as if it is gospel, whereas you actually have no idea
whether it is or not. As stated by someone else, there is always a small proportion in any epidemic who get reinfected. 91 reinfections out of many thousands of cases is almost insignificant.

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Ah, I'll just call up the virologists who are looking into this and tell them they can stop researching now. It's only 91 people. If there's another 91 next week, shall I ask them to start looking again, or do I just tell them to stop researching altogether?

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Originally Posted by dml1954

How do you know that your original quoted story from Korea is accurate or just fake news ? You appear to be approaching it as if it is gospel, whereas you actually have no idea
whether it is or not. As stated by someone else, there is always a small proportion in any epidemic who get reinfected. 91 reinfections out of many thousands of cases is almost insignificant.

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It would help if the OP had cited the source of the story, rather than just copying and pasting

Anyone seen The Road?
Because if this turns out to be the case we might be looking at years , not months.

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Originally Posted by CCFCC3PO

Ah, I'll just call up the virologists who are looking into this and tell them they can stop researching now. It's only 91 people. If there's another 91 next week, shall I ask them to start looking again, or do I just tell them to stop researching altogether?

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#ClapForCCFCC3PO

91 from how many hundreds of thousands is statistically insignificant, certainly within the margin of error for false positives - either in the first instance or now.

THAT is why South Korea in that item you copy and pasted ( without rightful attribution, well done kid ) are incredibly vague and not ruling any explanation out.

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Originally Posted by RichardM

It would help if the OP had cited the source of the story, rather than just copying and pasting

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Fair point.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-he...-idUKKCN21S15X

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Originally Posted by ToTaL ITK

Anyone seen The Road?
Because if this turns out to be the case we might be looking at years , not months.

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If there is no immunity, then it is difficult to see where this ends at the moment.

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Originally Posted by tell it like it is

#ClapForCCFCC3PO

91 from how many hundreds of thousands is statistically insignificant, certainly within the margin of error for false positives - either in the first instance or now.

THAT is why South Korea in that item you copy and pasted ( without rightful attribution, well done kid ) are incredibly vague and not ruling any explanation out.

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Have I ruled any explanation out? I don't think I have.

So, people who walk around thinking "I am invincible and immune" need to follow this story. Immunity or otherwise has not yet been proven. Suffice to say that, if reinfection, or reactivations are possible then, depending on rates of reinfection and relapsing, we could be in for a long haul.

Is what I said.

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Originally Posted by CCFCC3PO

If there is no immunity, then it is difficult to see where this ends at the moment.

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Sorry, I should have said if there is no long-term immunity.

Again, these are a limited number of cases, and it'll be interesting to see the causes of the positive tests.