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Started By
Message
Best explanation I've heard, difference between regular flu vs CV
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:39 am
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:39 am
This was passed on from an Associate Professor of
Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology
LSU School of Medicine
Original article link: Written by Tom King
Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who don’t understand...
It has to do with RNA sequencing.... I.e. genetics.
Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system.
This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year... you get immunity two ways...through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.
Novel viruses, come from animals.... the WHO ( World Health Org.) tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu).
But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans... then it’s a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.
Now.... sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human... once that happens..we have a new contagion phase.
And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, that’s what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s going to be..
H1N1 was deadly....but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.
Fast forward.
Now, here comes this Coronavirus... it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long...but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people.
At first, only animals could give it to a person... But here is the scary part.... in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”
This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity), took off like a rocket. And this was because humans have no known immunity...doctors have no known medicines for it.
And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus changed itself in such a way that it causes great damage to human lungs.
That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza.... this one is very slippery. And it’s a lung eater...And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain L....which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.
We really have no tools in our shed with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.
And let me end by saying....right now it’s hitting older folks harder... but this genome is so slippery...if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say what it will do next.
Be smart folks... acting like you’re unafraid is so not sexy right now. Stay home as much as you can for now, folks... and share this to those that just are not catching on.
Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology
LSU School of Medicine
Original article link: Written by Tom King
Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who don’t understand...
It has to do with RNA sequencing.... I.e. genetics.
Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system.
This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year... you get immunity two ways...through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.
Novel viruses, come from animals.... the WHO ( World Health Org.) tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu).
But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans... then it’s a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.
Now.... sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human... once that happens..we have a new contagion phase.
And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, that’s what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s going to be..
H1N1 was deadly....but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.
Fast forward.
Now, here comes this Coronavirus... it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long...but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people.
At first, only animals could give it to a person... But here is the scary part.... in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”
This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity), took off like a rocket. And this was because humans have no known immunity...doctors have no known medicines for it.
And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus changed itself in such a way that it causes great damage to human lungs.
That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza.... this one is very slippery. And it’s a lung eater...And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain L....which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.
We really have no tools in our shed with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.
And let me end by saying....right now it’s hitting older folks harder... but this genome is so slippery...if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say what it will do next.
Be smart folks... acting like you’re unafraid is so not sexy right now. Stay home as much as you can for now, folks... and share this to those that just are not catching on.
This post was edited on 3/17/20 at 1:02 pm
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:43 am to keepitsimple
quote:
keepitsimple
Proceeds to post massive wall of text
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:43 am to stout
It's a really good read. Cliff notes wouldn't do it justice.
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:43 am to keepitsimple
Actually pretty informative. Thanks for sharing.
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:44 am to keepitsimple
So, Swine flu and Bird flu weren’t actually the flu at all?
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:44 am to stout
quote:It’s “Cliff’s notes”, dummy
Cliff notes?
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:44 am to stout
Too hard to read stuff you disagree with?
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:45 am to stout
It looks like someone took a Facebook post and credited an associate professor
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:45 am to SuperflyLSU
quote:
quote:
keepitsimple
Proceeds to post massive wall of text
Figured someone would say that.
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:45 am to SuperflyLSU
quote:
Proceeds to post massive wall of text
If you’re not capable of reading that passage in this situation, I really don’t know what to say about you.
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:46 am to keepitsimple
Of course I have mild cold like symptoms this morning with all this shite going on. It might just be a cold but wonderful timing. I've already had the flu this year.
This post was edited on 3/17/20 at 10:46 am
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:46 am to stout
Novel virus that evolved in animals then jumped to humans. Therefore humans have no immunity to it unlike the flu virus which the human immune system is relatively familiar with because it evolved in humans.
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:46 am to stout
We have natural immunity to flu even without vaccine.
We don’t with COVID.
The same thing people have been telling the “it’s just the flu” tards since the beginning.
We don’t with COVID.
The same thing people have been telling the “it’s just the flu” tards since the beginning.
This post was edited on 3/17/20 at 10:47 am
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:46 am to stout
quote:
Cliff notes?
Ignoring the fact that it's odd to ask for Cliff's when the OP is about the typical length of your average page in a Cliff's Notes book...
It's an animal to human virus which makes it harder to treat b/c we have no natural ways to fight it off, it has already mutated at least once, it can do major damage to your lungs, he expects it to mutate again.
This post was edited on 3/17/20 at 10:49 am
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:46 am to keepitsimple
Agree. Pretty easy read
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:48 am to keepitsimple
quote:
And let me end by saying....right now it’s hitting older folks harder... but this genome is so slippery...if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say what it will do next.
Could it just as easily mutate toward something more benign as it could to something more harmful?
Posted on 3/17/20 at 10:49 am to keepitsimple
quote:
Figured someone would say that.
Had to. But good read.
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