Reply
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,537
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

The JOB OF COVID19

[ Edited ]

My sister is a microbiologist who worked 28 years at Bristol Meyers Squibb before retiring a few years ago.  We were talking on the phone the other day about the virus and she put it in layman's terms that make you think about how this virus works.   I will do my best to paraphrase what she said. 

 

She said the job of a virus, such as COVID19,  is to effectively infect and spread to as many other hosts as possible while trying to overtake and possibly kill its host.  The virus has to invade a cell in a body through  mucus membrane, eyes, nose, inhaling, etc but once it's in, it will replicate, reproduce and spread and keep doing so very quickly. Each time it replicates, it produces more and more of the virus within the body/cells.   

 

She said our own immune system will kick in to fight and kill most viruses and most often do, but some viruses, like COVID19, evolve much faster than the immune system which gives the virus a big advantage.  What also sets this virus apart from others is that it affects people in many different ways or not at all.  

 

With some states lifting restrictions, please be mindful of this insidious virus and take any and all precautions until a vaccine can be found.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,230
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@ciao_bellawhat a nasty job that virus has!   Great way to think of it.

 

That line about how it tries to replicate itself hit home for me because I just finished reading a post from another scientist in which he talked about the danger of repeated exposures -  as in, the more times you're out of your own safe zone (probably your home), the more hours you're standing less than 6 feet from another person, the more times you touch your face (when you're out of your safe zone), the more likelier you are to get enough exposure to become ill.

 

Now I really know I'm not ready to resume normal in the early days we're finally released.  I can already do lots, all without adding major risk to me or anyone else.  And with mask, gloves, and lots of wipes or sanitizer, I can take care of what I need to do even if it's not everything I want to do!

 

The virus has a job,  but I do also -  we're just tugging on opposite ends of the rope!

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,152
Registered: ‎02-05-2018

@ciao_bella wrote:

My sister is a microbiologist who worked 28 years at Bristol Meyers Squibb before retiring a few years ago.  We were talking on the phone the other day about the virus and she put it in layman's terms that make you think about how this virus works.   I will do my best to paraphrase what she said. 

 

She said the job of a virus, such as COVID19, SARS, etc is to kill its host.  The virus has to invade a cell in a body through  mucus membrane, eyes, nose, inhaling, etc but once it's in, it will replicate, reproduce and spread and keep doing so very quickly. Each time it replicates, it produces more and more of the virus within the body/cells.   

 

She said our own immune system will kick in to fight and kill most viruses and most often do, but some viruses, like COVID19, evolve much faster than the immune system which gives the virus a big advantage.  What also sets this virus apart from others is that it affects people in many different ways or not at all.  

 

With some states lifting restrictions, please be mindful of this insidious virus and take any and all precautions until a vaccine can be found.

 


I think killing the host is the side hustle job. Its first job is to spread to as many hosts as possible. The fact that this one does so without making the host sick first means it's very effective at that job. Thankfully not as much as the Measles, but more so than influenza.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,232
Registered: ‎12-14-2018

@ciao_bella 

thank you, that is a helpful explanation. I have done well with stay-at-home mandate but I am probably going to try getting out some this week end but thanks to your explanation I will NOT complain or neglect PPE.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,451
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: The JOB OF COVID19

[ Edited ]

I disagree with your sister.  The job of a virus is not to kill its host, but to replicate and spread to others.  When viruses are too virulent and kill people, i.e. their host, they cannot spread, replicate, and thrive.  Many viruses evolve to become less deadly over time as a result. 

 

A bio-weapon, on the other hand, would be specificially designed to kill a multitude of people.  Is your sister of the opinion that SARS, and SARS-CoV2 are bio-weapons?

 

Regardless, this particular coronavirus most certainly acts differently and more aggressively than previous, typically occuring coronaviruses (not including the outliers, MERS and SARS, of course).  A brave ICU doctor in Brooklyn stated that using ventilators on high pressure settings was disastrous and deadly for Covid-19 patients he personally treated. Considering the high mortality rate for people on ventilators in NY, which is near 90%, I believe he is likely correct.

 

I think that due to the severe bodily havoc that some Covid-19 patients experience causing their cells to become oxygen deprived, and their blood to form clots, that the best hope is an antiviral drug that can knock it out and prevent replication.  That's what the hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and zinc combination did.  I wish this could get to the patients prior to their hospitalization with breathing difficulties, when treatment might come too late for them.  Another favorable combination has been coritisone (an anti-inflammatory), high dose Vitamin C, and a blood thinner.  Now, doctors in Alabama are conducting a study to investigate the use of Nitric Oxide as a Covid-19 treatment.  We need something to treat the illness, because too many are not surviving due to the lack of treatment, or due to receiving available treatment options far too late.  If off-label use of certain drugs is found to work, those drugs should be used.  

Valued Contributor
Posts: 602
Registered: ‎08-08-2010

Re: The JOB OF COVID19

[ Edited ]

When you put it in those terms, it's actually quite GROSS isn't it?  Ick!

 

It reminds me of the movie, "Alien(s)."

"I never changed, I just learned."
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,537
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

As a few posters pointed out, while it is true that this virus's method of operation is to infect and spread quickly to as many people as possible, it also will do its best to kill the host.

Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life!
Super Contributor
Posts: 382
Registered: ‎01-26-2019

Please don’t scold me anyone, but on my own a few weeks ago, 

I added Vit. D and C to my supplements routine, as well as 

a baby aspirin (every few days).

 

I am very healthy, an avid exerciser, a “once a month meat eater”,

and take about a dozen supplements  daily. Usually in the lower

concentrations.

 

After learning about blood clotting concerns w this virus, I then added the baby aspirin.

 

For ME, I don’t feel I’m harming myself. I’m aware I’m not a doctor, but

Ive lived this long with not ONE “prior condition” or in-patient hospitalization.

 

This virus  has turned out to be a hostile enemy to every part of our body,

not only the lungs, but kidneys, clots and strokes.

 

Yet some are untouched even though *Positive.

 

Its such an unsettling feeling.

 

We are living through history and because of technology there will be a full,

complete and informative “look back” at what living through it was like.

 

I don’t believe I will be alive to go through another Pandemic.....but I fear for my children and grandchildren .........where these types of crisis may be  relatively common and routine.

 

Maybe in 5-10 years (god willing)  I’ll be ready to  read “The Book” (or watch the PBS/Discovery Documentary) about this period. 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,910
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

We also have to remember that it is invisible. If you find yourself in a space where two minutes before someone who is positive coughed or sneezed and touched something you're about to touch, you could be in trouble. 

 

A while back, one victim's husband said his wife had been staying home and decided one day to do four quick errands, including picking up a few groceries. The man behind her in line sneezed. That was it, and THAT'S what I pay attention to. HE may have been fine, but she paid the ultimate price for standing in that line. 

 

Even though most are still complying with the current stay-at-home orders, I see people getting lax. The spring weather and sunshine are drawing people out, without social distancing. 

 

I'm staying home. This is a new world. 

Highlighted
Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,775
Registered: ‎07-09-2011

 

 

The goal of every successful organism (including humans) is to:

 

Find a host that meets it's needs, and Reproduce.

 

Killing the host is a side effect, not a goal,

Because killing the host means nothing left to live on.

 

Fevers, Coughs, Vomiting, etc, are our bodies ways of trying to

rid themselves of invading viruses.  

 

Yep, this virus is smart, it doesn't kill everyone it attacks, but it still reproduces more virus cells.

 

GAACK!

.

 

"Animals are not my whole world, but they have made my world whole" ~ Roger Caras