A doctor in Assam was positive for both the alpha and delta COVID-19 variants. However, she has had both her vaccinations. The doctor’s sample was positive for the variants a month after the second dosage. Luckily, she only experienced mild symptoms and recovered without the need for hospitalization.
Double infection by COVID-19 variants
As per the tests at Indian Council for Medical Research’s Regional Medical Center (RMRC), Dibrugarh, Assam, the woman was infected with two variants of coronavirus at the same time. The test was affirmative for both alpha and delta variants of the SARS-CoV-2.
“A double infection happens when two variants infect one person simultaneously or within a very short period of time. It occurs when someone is infected with one variant. But gets another infection by another variant within 2-3 days of the first infection and before antibodies could develop,” said Dr. B J Borkakoty, a senior scientist at the RMRC.
New findings
“During the initial phase of the second wave in Assam around February-March this year, most COVID-19 cases were due to the Alpha variant. Then after the assembly elections in April, cases of Delta variant infections started to emerge,” added Dr. Borkakoty.
The lab at RMRC detected the double infection case in early May. The woman’s husband, who is also a doctor, tested positive for the Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2. “It is very common to get cases of infection with lineage A and reinfection with lineage B. But, there have also been quite a few cases seen of infection with lineage A + B,” said Dr. Arunag Agarwal, the director of CSIR-IGIB in Delhi.