Covid19 update Mar 30,2020
I saw a somewhat distressing advice given by a hired medical source on a national news network, that suggested that people leave their homes and run out to get a flu and pneumonia shot. I disagee and thought sharing some insight may help. A quote from en-slaved poet Taras Shevchenko states; “to overcome an adversity, first learn all you can about it”. There is a big difference between bacteria and viruses. Bacteria are the car, and a virus is the bolt on a wheel. Viruses are very simple and microscopic. Coronavirus, has a bit of RNA in it, a lipid coat with some protiens on it. That’s it. If you disrupt the coat with alcohol or soap, it becomes non functional and decomposes. DNA analytic techniques may find the “remains” weeks later, but cant tell if the virus is alive or dead. Hence rumours of persistence are born. Dead viruses dont infect. At any given time, our skin, and external body cavities are colonized with hundreds of different bacteria, fungi and viruses. Our skin and innate immune system keep it all in balance. It takes a minimum infective dose to create infection. For coronavirus, this means that you need a large number of virus being delivered to the lung simultaneously. It could be dozens or thousands. One particle on an egg carton dosnt stand a chance. This is why health workers are more at risk. When an infected patient coughs, they are capable of spreading a million virus particles in every salivary droplet expelled. It’s the natural course. If these are directly inhaled and reach the lungs, then a new infection can occurr. It is important to understand the life cycle of respiratory and cold viruses. When a large particle load reaches the lungs, our first line of defence kicks in. These immune cells try to create an unfavourable environment to reduce replication, and buy some time for our immune factories to design specific killer antibodies. This general response produces inflammation via particles called cytokines and interleukin. We can feel this going on, with fever, sore throat, muscle aches, chills and fatigue. The virus wants to borrow lung cells, and use their machinery to produce more viruses, which will be expelled with coughing. In some people this immune response is quite substantial. When you get inflammation around lung alveoli, which is a very thin area that transfers oxygen to blood, this oxygen transfer is difficult to occurr. People whose immune systems are not up to par, have a delay in producing viral antibodies, and this first response persists longer. This can produce Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Oxygen or a respirator can enhance this needed oxygen transfer and if the antibody response catches up, things will get resolved. However, many people with other medical disorders and poor lifestyles experience more severe effects. A flu-shot will afford some immunity to some influenza viruses and none against coronavirus. The pneumonia shot is designed for bacteria, and may help when bacteria overwhelm natural defences and enter the blood.
Having coronavirus on your body, clothing or other object is not too worrisome. It is when you bring substantial amounts to your mouth that can cause problems. Hand washing is a great idea. Wearing a mask, when in close contact to people is also a good idea. For others it has the benefit of stopping unconscious mouth touching. Full protective gear is recommended for those working with Covid19 infected patients due to the large virus loads involved.