reinfection

noun

re·​in·​fec·​tion ˌrē-in-ˈfek-shən How to pronounce reinfection (audio)
: infection following recovery from or superimposed on infection of the same type
reinfect transitive verb

Examples of reinfection in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The report notes the findings are a reminder about the risks of reinfection for those who are immunocompromised. Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2023 Getting infected and vaccined reduces the chance of reinfection a year later by 42%, with someone who was infected but not vaccinated had a 25% lower chance of reinfection. Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2023 Rates of reinfection were higher among people with HIV (6.7%) than among people without HIV (5.2%). Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2023 That led to a massive wave of infections and reinfections late 2021 and into 2022. Helen Branswell, STAT, 23 Aug. 2023 While a reinfection might still cause trouble, Al-Aly's now studying whether that overall risk dropped thanks to vaccination and milder coronavirus strains. Lauran Neergaard The Associated Pres, Arkansas Online, 17 Aug. 2023 Public health experts said tracking reinfections is important for understanding long-term complications and immunity from vaccination. Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2023 As for Iceland, the health department advisory listed a study from that country that found that the rate of reinfection from the Omicron variant of COVID increased with the time since vaccination, and that the rate of reinfection was slightly higher among Icelanders who had two shots than one. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023 Michelle Haddad, a neuropsychologist who runs a long-covid clinic at Emory Rehabilitation Hospital in Atlanta, said the risk of reinfection has heightened anxiety for some patients, exacerbating PTSD. Frances Stead Sellers, Anchorage Daily News, 30 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reinfection.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of reinfection was in 1661

Dictionary Entries Near reinfection

Cite this Entry

“Reinfection.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reinfection. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

reinfection

noun
re·​in·​fec·​tion ˌrē-ən-ˈfek-shən How to pronounce reinfection (audio)
: infection following recovery from another infection of the same kind
reinfect
ˌre-ən-ˈfekt
verb

Medical Definition

reinfection

noun
re·​in·​fec·​tion ˌrē-in-ˈfek-shən How to pronounce reinfection (audio)
: infection following recovery from or superimposed on a previous infection of the same type
rescreening aimed at detecting reinfection following treatmentDiana Mahoney
reinfect transitive verb
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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