Posts
Doctors found that five of the 147 patients in a study tested positive again after recovery, Wang Wei, director of Wuhan Tongji Hospital, told the state broadcaster CCTV yesterday.
Meanwhile, 14 per cent of those who recovered were diagnosed with the pathogen later in southern China's Guangdong Province, said Song Tie, deputy director of the provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the study conducted by the Wuhan medics, the recovered patients showed no symptoms after testing positive again. The researchers found no evidence that they became infectious after recovery as their family members all tested negative.
Guangdong officials also suggested the people in close contact with such recovered patients weren't infected by them.
Medical experts have raised questions about if nucleic acid tests are reliable in detecting traces of the virus in some of the recovered patients.
'It's possible that these recovered patients tested negative before because of false results,' Mr Wang added. 'The accuracy of a nucleic acid test is 30 to 50 per cent.'
The chief doctor said it was crucial to closely monitor recovered patients and put them under two-week quarantine after discharge.
'Our sample size for this study was relatively small,' said the hospital director, 'we are planning to carry out large-scale research among local communities in Wuhan soon.'
Meanwhile, 14 per cent of those who recovered were diagnosed with the pathogen later in southern China's Guangdong Province, said Song Tie, deputy director of the provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the study conducted by the Wuhan medics, the recovered patients showed no symptoms after testing positive again. The researchers found no evidence that they became infectious after recovery as their family members all tested negative.
Guangdong officials also suggested the people in close contact with such recovered patients weren't infected by them.
Medical experts have raised questions about if nucleic acid tests are reliable in detecting traces of the virus in some of the recovered patients.
'It's possible that these recovered patients tested negative before because of false results,' Mr Wang added. 'The accuracy of a nucleic acid test is 30 to 50 per cent.'
The chief doctor said it was crucial to closely monitor recovered patients and put them under two-week quarantine after discharge.
'Our sample size for this study was relatively small,' said the hospital director, 'we are planning to carry out large-scale research among local communities in Wuhan soon.'
No comments:
Post a Comment