No evidence of Re-infection or Person-to-Person Transmission in Cured
COVID-19 Patients, a Retrospective Cohort Study
Abstract
Objectives To clarify the clinical features of cured patients with
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the relevance of IgM and IgG testing.
Methods A total of 187 cured COVID-19 patients with antibody test were
followed up every two weeks. Assessment for general condition, symptoms,
epidemiological contact history, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay,
and antibody tests were performed and recorded. Information from
Guangzhou CDC was also screened. Results The mean follow-up time was
45.7 days. There were 33 (17.6%) patients with negative results for IgG
and 35 (18.7%) patients with positive results for IgM. PCR assay was
positive in 10 (5.3%) patients during the follow-up. Neither IgG nor
IgM results showed a relationship with PCR test results (all P
> 0.05). Neither re-infection nor person-to-person
transmission was found in the cured patients. Factors associated with
appearance of antibody comprised hospitalization days (OR: 1.07, 95%CI:
1.02-1.13, P = 0.004) and antibiotics treatment (OR: 2.78, 95%CI:
1.10-7.01, P = 0.031) . Conclusions In our study, neither re-infection
nor person-to-person transmission was found in cured patients with
COVID-19. Additionally, neither IgG nor IgM can be used to replace the
PCR test in cured patients.