Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has stretched into the tiny Himalayan country Bhutan and the first suspected case was seen on 27 th January 2020. There are no reports available in the country till date. Therefore, a descriptive study was conducted to understand the epidemiological characteristics of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bhutan as of 30 th April 2020. Methods: Data were extracted from the Royal Center for Disease Control COVID-19 information database and analyzed using Epi Info 7.2. Results: A total of 1716 individuals were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection and seven were confirmed positive using RT-PCR. The median age and incubation period were 20 years and 5 days respectively. The predominant clinical symptoms included loss of smell (71.0%) followed by fever (42.8%) and sore throat (42.8%). Notably, there is no reported local transmission in the country. Conclusion: The robust surveillance system plays a vital role in active case findings in COVID-19 cases. Further efforts should be continually focused on surveillance and testing for the containment of the infection to prevent local transmission.
Recovered COVID-19 patients may test positive for SARS-CoV-2 for a long time from intermittent shedding of viral fragments. A 36-year-old man who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the Czech Republic and recovered tested positive again in Bhutan, 105 days beyond his first positive test. He experienced minimal symptoms and recovered without complications. Although no virological test was conducted to rule out reinfection, the repeat positive test after initial recovery likely resulted from prolonged shedding of dead viral particles than a reinfection.
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