Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Virol. Dec 15, 2020; 9(5): 79-90
Published online Dec 15, 2020. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v9.i5.79
Reinfection risk of novel coronavirus (COVID-19): A systematic ‎review of current evidence
SeyedAhmad SeyedAlinaghi, Shahram Oliaei, Shaghayegh Kianzad, Amir Masoud Afsahi, Mehrzad MohsseniPour, Alireza Barzegary, Pegah Mirzapour, Farzane Behnezhad, Tayebeh Noori, Esmaeil Mehraeen, Omid Dadras, Fabricio Voltarelli, Jean-Marc Sabatier
SeyedAhmad SeyedAlinaghi, Mehrzad MohsseniPour, Pegah Mirzapour, Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High Risk Behaviors, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1586489615, Iran
Shahram Oliaei, HBOT Research Center, Golestan Hospital, Islamic Republic of Iran, Navy and AJA Medical University, Tehran ‎7134845794‎, Iran
Shaghayegh Kianzad, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran ‎7134845794‎, Iran
Amir Masoud Afsahi, Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), California, CA 587652458, United States
Alireza Barzegary, School of Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Tehran ‎7134845794‎, Iran
Farzane Behnezhad, Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran ‎7134845794‎, Iran
Tayebeh Noori, Department of Health Information Technology, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol 5486952364, Iran
Esmaeil Mehraeen, Department of Health Information Technology, Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences, Khalkhal 1419733141, Iran
Omid Dadras, Department of Global Health and Socioepidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 215789652, Japan
Fabricio Voltarelli, Graduation Program of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá 458796523, Brazil
Jean-Marc Sabatier, Université Aix-Marseille, Institutde Neuro-physiopathologie (INP), UMR 7051, Faculté de ‎Pharmacie, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, Marseille 546789235, France
Author contributions: Mehraeen E and SeyedAlinaghi S conceived and designed the study; Afsahi AM and Behnezhad F acquired the data; Kianzad S, Oliaei S, and Barzegary A analyzed and interpreted the data; Mehraeen E and Noori T drafted the article; SeyedAlinaghi S, MohsseniPour M, and Mirzapour P critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; Dadras O, Voltarelli F, and Sabatier JM completed final approval of the version to be submitted.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors confirm that they have no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Esmaeil Mehraeen, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Information Technology, Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences, Azizi, Khalkhal 1419733141, Iran. es.mehraeen@gmail.com
Received: September 2, 2020
Peer-review started: September 2, 2020
First decision: September 21, 2020
Revised: September 23, 2020
Accepted: November 19, 2020
Article in press: November 19, 2020
Published online: December 15, 2020
Processing time: 99 Days and 12.2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

There is recently a concern regarding the reinfection and reactivation of previously reCoVered coronavirus disease 2019 (CoVID-19) patients.

AIM

To summarize the recent findings and reports of CoVID-19 reinfection in patients previously reCoVered from the disease.

METHODS

This study was a systematic review of current evidence conducted in August 2020. The authors studied the probable reinfection risk of novel coronavirus (CoVID-19). We performed a systematic search using the keywords in online databases. The investigation adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist to ensure the reliability and validity of this study and results.

RESULTS

We reviewed 31 studies. Eight studies described reCoVered patients with reinfection. Only one study reported reinfected patients who died. In 26 studies, there was no information about the status of the patients. Several studies indicated that reinfection is not probable and that post-infection immunity is at least temporary and short.

CONCLUSION

Based on our review, we concluded that a positive polymerase chain reaction retest could be due to several reasons and should not always be considered as reinfection or reactivation of the disease. Most relevant studies in positive retest patients have shown relative and probably temporary immunity after the reCoVery of the disease.

Keywords: Reactivation; Reinfection; Postinfection; Coronavirus; CoVID-19; SARS-CoV-2

Core Tip: The reinfection in patients reCoVered from coronavirus disease 2019 (CoVID-19) could create a serious challenge in ‎tackling the CoVID-19 pandemic as the reCoVered patients could be a source of virus spread ‎in society. Previous studies have found a positive viral ribonucleic acid test in some of the ‎discharged CoVID-19 patients 10 to 27 d after reCoVery. Recurrence of CoVID-‎‎19 after reCoVery should be differentiated from secondary medical conditions such ‎as super infection, pulmonary embolism, or persistent ribonucleic acid virus that can be disCoVered in ‎respiratory specimens in clinically cured CoVID-19 patients. This review aims to assist ‎a systematic compilation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 reactivation in reCoVered CoVID-19 patients.‎