Medical Staff: "No Reinfection Concern for Recovered COVID-19 Patients... More Discharges Soon"

Discharged Patient No. 2 of Novel Coronavirus... First Recovery Among 18 Patients
Attending Medical Staff: "Administered Oral Medication Used for Mild HIV Treatment"

On the afternoon of the 5th, when the second confirmed patient of the novel coronavirus infection in Korea was discharged, Jin Beomsik, an infectious disease specialist and the attending physician of patient number 2, held a press conference related to the discharge at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. From the left: Jeong Gihyeon, director of the National Medical Center; Dr. Jin; Kim Jinyong, infectious disease specialist at Incheon Medical Center; and Bang Jihwan, head of the Central Infectious Disease Hospital Operations Center. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Medical staff who treated the second confirmed patient of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), the first to be discharged, revealed on the 5th that they used antiviral drugs typically used for treating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Similar treatment methods were applied as during the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, and it is expected that the recovered patient is unlikely to be reinfected.

Jin Beom-sik, an infectious disease specialist at the National Medical Center who treated patient No. 2, stated at a briefing that "the patient had no special symptoms other than a sore throat upon admission, but after stopping the fever reducer, the temperature rose to about 38 degrees Celsius. A chest CT scan revealed multiple ground-glass opacity pulmonary nodules, so antiviral drugs were administered starting from the third day of hospitalization." He added, "It is difficult to determine whether the antiviral drugs had a decisive effect on the clinical course, but chest X-ray findings showed improvement, and clinical symptoms such as sore throat and cough disappeared from the seventh day."

This patient, who worked in Wuhan, China, and had previously received treatment for a sore throat locally, returned to Korea on the 22nd of last month and was confirmed positive on the 24th, after which isolation treatment was administered. Among the 18 patients confirmed so far, this patient was the first to be discharged on this day. Symptoms had already disappeared several days prior, the condition had improved, and two virus tests conducted one day apart both returned negative results. Generally, such criteria are applied to determine discharge in infectious diseases, and in the case of MERS, an additional day is observed before virus testing. This patient met both criteria, leading to the final decision for discharge.

As the government restricts entry of all foreigners who have visited or stayed in Hubei Province to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, on the 5th, health authorities are preparing to verify domestic contact information of passengers at the dedicated arrival hall for flights from China at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport.
Yeongjongdo - Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

The main treatment used was Kaletra, an antiviral drug used for HIV infection, according to Dr. Jin. It is an oral medication used for mild patients. While severe antiviral drugs may be used depending on the patient's condition, the decision was made considering side effects and complications comprehensively.

The medical staff assessed that the patient is unlikely to transmit the virus during the recovery phase. Bang Ji-hwan, head of the Central Infectious Disease Operation Center at the National Medical Center and leader of the Central Clinical Task Force Team, said, "There seems to be concern that the virus might still be transmitted during recovery because it is not completely eliminated, but we have confirmed that the virus is no longer present," adding, "There is no need to worry about transmission during the recovery phase."

First Domestic Patient Also Symptom-Free and Expected to Test Negative
"Effectiveness of AIDS, Malaria, and Ebola Treatments Shared Among Medical Staff"

The medical staff stated that the first confirmed patient in Korea is also symptom-free and expected to test negative in virus tests, and they are reviewing the possibility of lifting isolation. Kim Jin-yong, an infectious disease specialist at Incheon Medical Center who is treating patient No. 1, said, "Virus tests were conducted 3 to 4 days after clinical symptoms disappeared," and added, "If both tests come back negative, isolation will be lifted around the 6th."

Earlier tests on the 1st and 2nd were negative, and additional tests are ongoing. However, considering that this patient resides in Wuhan and it is currently difficult to return to the locked-down residence, the medical staff said they will decide on discharge accordingly. Patient No. 13 at the National Medical Center is also symptom-free, with only mild pneumonia confirmed on CT scans.

Since the number of patients is still small, it is not yet at the level to establish treatment guidelines, but there is some consensus among medical staff regarding effective treatments. Team leader Bang said, "When a drug is said to be effective, extensive research is required," and added, "Although it is not yet a guideline, there is some consensus to try drugs that are somewhat promising, such as Kaletra and other AIDS treatments, malaria treatments, and Ebola treatments currently under development."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.