<p>Some hospitals in the national capital have said they are seeing recovered coronavirus patients returning to them with recurrence of the infection.</p>.<p>Earlier this month, the Delhi government-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital saw two instances of patients with relapse of coronavirus, almost one-and-a-half months after they were cured of the infection. In both the instances of relapse, the patients had moderate symptoms.</p>.<p>Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka had also reported a case where a cancer patient recovered from coronavirus and contracted the disease again after a couple of months. The second time proved fatal for the patient who succumbed to the virus.</p>.<p>Last month, the case of a Delhi policeman having a relapse of the novel coronavirus had emerged which had left experts baffled.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-unlock-30-rules-india-maharashtra-karnataka-delhi-tamil-nadu-mumbai-bengaluru-chennai-ahmedabad-new-delhi-total-cases-deaths-recoveries-today-covid-19-coronavirus-vaccine-covid-vaccine-updates-869265.html">Follow latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic here</a></strong></p>.<p>In the same month, a similar case had surfaced in the national capital after a nurse employed at a civic-run dedicated Covid-19 hospital had tested positive again after recovering from the contagious disease.</p>.<p>According to Dr BL Sherwal, medical director of the Delhi government-run hospital, unless the virus is cultured or gene sequencing done, it will be difficult to determine whether it is a different strain of the virus that has infected the person the second time.</p>.<p>"There can be a relapse. The virus can be isolated from the body particularly from the sputum. We have the evidence that after ninth or tenth day the virus becomes non-infectious and the patients are not tested again," he said.</p>.<p>"However, the virus has been reported to be living in patients who have recovered around 39 to 40 days back," he added.</p>.<p>Dr Chandragouda Dodagoudar, director of medical oncology at Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka, shared the case of a 65-year-old patient who had stage 2 lymphoma. The patient first visited the health facility in March and was advised chemotherapy but was very apprehensive due to the coronavirus disease.</p>.<p>"The patient delayed the treatment for two and a half months and took alternative medicines and when that medication did not work and she started having pain, she visited the hospital. She had contracted Covid-19 by then and the lymphoma had progressed from Stage 2 to Stage 4. We could not administer chemotherapy while she was undergoing Covid treatment," he said.</p>.<p>The doctor said after the patient recovered from coronavirus, she was administered a slight dose of chemotherapy and became better and was discharged. But after a month, she had a relapse of Covid and ended up in a critical condition and succumbed last month.</p>.<p>The senior doctor said the patient did not have any other co-morbidities but called cancer a ''co-morbidity''.</p>.<p>Sherwal said patients with weak immunity are likely to get reinfection. "It can be there in any of the patients, cancer patients, HIV patients, etc," he said.</p>.<p>He added that immunocompromised patients are at more risk if they do not take precautions like wearing of masks and washing hands frequently.</p>
<p>Some hospitals in the national capital have said they are seeing recovered coronavirus patients returning to them with recurrence of the infection.</p>.<p>Earlier this month, the Delhi government-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital saw two instances of patients with relapse of coronavirus, almost one-and-a-half months after they were cured of the infection. In both the instances of relapse, the patients had moderate symptoms.</p>.<p>Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka had also reported a case where a cancer patient recovered from coronavirus and contracted the disease again after a couple of months. The second time proved fatal for the patient who succumbed to the virus.</p>.<p>Last month, the case of a Delhi policeman having a relapse of the novel coronavirus had emerged which had left experts baffled.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-unlock-30-rules-india-maharashtra-karnataka-delhi-tamil-nadu-mumbai-bengaluru-chennai-ahmedabad-new-delhi-total-cases-deaths-recoveries-today-covid-19-coronavirus-vaccine-covid-vaccine-updates-869265.html">Follow latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic here</a></strong></p>.<p>In the same month, a similar case had surfaced in the national capital after a nurse employed at a civic-run dedicated Covid-19 hospital had tested positive again after recovering from the contagious disease.</p>.<p>According to Dr BL Sherwal, medical director of the Delhi government-run hospital, unless the virus is cultured or gene sequencing done, it will be difficult to determine whether it is a different strain of the virus that has infected the person the second time.</p>.<p>"There can be a relapse. The virus can be isolated from the body particularly from the sputum. We have the evidence that after ninth or tenth day the virus becomes non-infectious and the patients are not tested again," he said.</p>.<p>"However, the virus has been reported to be living in patients who have recovered around 39 to 40 days back," he added.</p>.<p>Dr Chandragouda Dodagoudar, director of medical oncology at Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka, shared the case of a 65-year-old patient who had stage 2 lymphoma. The patient first visited the health facility in March and was advised chemotherapy but was very apprehensive due to the coronavirus disease.</p>.<p>"The patient delayed the treatment for two and a half months and took alternative medicines and when that medication did not work and she started having pain, she visited the hospital. She had contracted Covid-19 by then and the lymphoma had progressed from Stage 2 to Stage 4. We could not administer chemotherapy while she was undergoing Covid treatment," he said.</p>.<p>The doctor said after the patient recovered from coronavirus, she was administered a slight dose of chemotherapy and became better and was discharged. But after a month, she had a relapse of Covid and ended up in a critical condition and succumbed last month.</p>.<p>The senior doctor said the patient did not have any other co-morbidities but called cancer a ''co-morbidity''.</p>.<p>Sherwal said patients with weak immunity are likely to get reinfection. "It can be there in any of the patients, cancer patients, HIV patients, etc," he said.</p>.<p>He added that immunocompromised patients are at more risk if they do not take precautions like wearing of masks and washing hands frequently.</p>