AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto has tested positive for the coronavirus for the second time in over two months, making him the state’s first high-profile case of re-infection, a trend doctors say is already prevalent and could well lead to a second Covid-19 wave in the ongoing festive season.

Former deputy chief minister Mahto, an MLA from Silli, undertook a test on Wednesday morning and by late-night, his RT-PCR test results turned out positive. He was scheduled to fly with his family to UAE to watch the IPL playoffs but has now quarantined himself at home.

AJSU-P spokesperson Deosharan Bhagat told the media that Mahto was asymptomatic.

Mahto tested positive for the virus for the first time on August 19 and was declared cured on August 26. He remained in home isolation. But after a few weeks, he became politically active ahead of the two bypolls in Dumka and Bermo which was held on November 3.

Mahto, whose party extended support to the BJP, campaigned in both constituencies and held over a dozen rallies.

Dr. Pradeep Bhattacharjee, head of critical care and trauma at state-run Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), said he had started seeing cases of re-infection in recent weeks.

“Re-infection is not new anymore, going by our day-to-day experience. We are seeing it quite often now. In fact, a few doctors of RIMS had got re-infected in the past but overcame the virus again,” said the doctor who is among those who have been attending to COVID patients.

Bhattacharjee explained that he has noticed that the viral load in re-infections doesn’t necessarily remain high or lethal as in the case of first infections. Asked how or why re-infections occurred, he said, “There could be many reasons. For instance, the cure may have been inadequate, the virus may have become dormant during retest. Generation of antibodies in an infected person may have been inadequate or the antibodies may not have been of high immunity.”

He iterated that it was a myth that all cured COVID patients were safe. “That’s because all treatments happening across the country or worldwide are solely based on trial or error due to the unavailability of a specific, sure-shot drug to beat Covid-19. Now, studies are indicating that even if a drug/vaccine is out, its efficiency will only be 70 percent.

“It will take years to fully understand the nature of this virus and its long-term impact, its mutations, impact on human genes, among others. So, all that one needs to do is to take precautions of basic hygiene and use masks as preventive measures,” he said.