A Public Health Announcement about Coronavirus

Well, that ??? in Texas would have me die so you young people could continue to live. Sorry, I am not giving in.. What would you do without me?????? God Bless America, we will get thru this but how many of us will be talking to our significant others at the end?? I will be married for 50 years on June 6th, and damn we are going to celebrate with our kids one way or another!!!!!!!!!!!

I have more life left in me and I am going no where until I see at least one or two more banners!!!!!!

RosalieTCeltics wrote:I think there are too many "experts" giving their thoughts on this, I just read in our local paper that the so called experts said that it would level off in our county by August. UGH,  we will all
be nuts by then.  
Glad to hear all is safe with your wife's friends Cowens, be safe yourself, I haven't left the house except to go to the hospital for two and a half weeks. Now they want me to go to a clinic to get my blood tested so I do not have to walk into the hospital. Fine with me as long as it is fas.

Rosalie

Thanks Rosalie, her friends all were forced to real lockdown, only one person per family was allowed out at specific times and the only place you could go was the food store. They had military style security monitoring all the apartment complexes. Other than that they all communicated thru social media, we chat is the big network there. Everyone in the city was not allowed out at all, my wife was saying you could never get Americans to do that to that degree, the citizens had no choice, and Thank God it worked out.

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/03/karl-anthony-towns-coronavirus-video-reveals-mother-in-coma-fighting-covid-19.html



Karl-Anthony Towns coronavirus video reveals mother in coma, fighting COVID-19




Updated Mar 25, 2020; Posted Mar 25, 2020




Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns plays against the San Antonio Spurs in an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)AP


By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com




Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns revealed in an early-morning video on Wednesday that his mother is in a medically-induced coma and on a ventilator while fighting the coronavirus.

“I was told early last week my parents weren’t feeling well,” he said at the beginning of the video. Towns says he and his sister were adamant about them going to get help.


“I don’t think anyone really understood what it was,” he continued. “She kept getting worse. She kept getting worse.”

Eventually she was admitted to a hospital and, according to Towns, given a variety of drugs and combinations of drugs that provided hope that things would get better. His father was discharged and told to isolate himself but his mother stayed at the hospital. Towns said she was deteriorating for a bit, but then felt well for a short time.

“She felt she was turning the corner. I felt she was turning the corner,” he said. “Thing went sideways quick. Her lungs were extremely getting worse. She was having trouble breathing.”

At that point she was put on a ventilator and put into a medically-induced coma.

“I just wanted to make this video so people understand the severity of this disease is real,” he said. “This disease needs to not be taken lightly. Please protect your families, your loved ones, your friends, yourself. Practice social distancing. Please don’t be in places with a lot of people.”


Coronavirus continues to spread globally, with more than 16 thousand confirmed deaths according to the World Health Organization. The numbers of cases in the United States continue to spike, as the availability of more tests confirms more cases. The pandemic’s impact on the U.S. has led to a $2 trillion aid package to help mitigate the extreme measures necessary to control the spread, including forced shut-downs of businesses and shelter-in-place orders.

Here is his entire video:





bob


.

This is sad...this kid had all he could do to hold it together, prayers for his Mom and family.

US only, per CDC, updated.

3/20/20:  15,219 cases, 201 deaths.

3/23/20:  33,404 cases, 400 deaths.

3/26/20:  68,440 cases, 994 deaths.

Coronavirus is STILL doubling every 3 days, as you can see.  5X as many dead in just 6 days.  That means the mortality rate is slightly higher than the infection rate.  At this rate there will be as many deaths from coronavirus as from this year's seasonal flu (16,000) by approximately April 7th.  That's just 12 days from now.

STAY HOME AND HELP FLATTEN THE CURVE!!  WASH YOUR HANDS WITH HOT, SOAPY WATER FOR AT LEAST 20 SECONDS FREQUENTLY.


bob


.

bobheckler wrote:US only, per CDC, updated.

3/20/20:  15,219 cases, 201 deaths.

3/23/20:  33,404 cases, 400 deaths.

3/26/20:  68,440 cases, 994 deaths.

Coronavirus is STILL doubling every 3 days, as you can see.  5X as many dead in just 6 days.  That means the mortality rate is slightly higher than the infection rate.  At this rate there will be as many deaths from coronavirus as from this year's seasonal flu (16,000) by approximately April 7th.  That's just 12 days from now.

STAY HOME AND HELP FLATTEN THE CURVE!!  WASH YOUR HANDS WITH HOT, SOAPY WATER FOR AT LEAST 20 SECONDS FREQUENTLY.


bob


.

Right don’t ever put your hands near your face, unless you wash your hands first. The virus will not penetrate your skin, it can only get you if it gets in your lungs and that’s mainly thru the nose, so don’t go near your nose or eyes or mouth, unless your hands are spotless clean....

3/24/20:  44,183 cases, 544 dead.

3/27/20:  85,356 cases, 1246 dead.


Good news, bad news:  

Good news is the inflection rate is slightly less than doubling every 3 days.

Bad news is the mortality rate increased from 1.23% to 1.46%.

The mortality rate for the seasonal flu is .1%.  Granted it would be much higher if 160M flu shots weren't administered but there is no vaccine for Coronavirus.  So when doctors said coronavirus is "10-11X worse than the flu"  they were a bit over-optimistic.  1.4% is 14X more than .1%, not 11%.


bob


.

Light at the end of the tunnel.

Schools in NY State looking at re-opening by April 20.

Kids will have driven parents mad by then.

Wish the press would report on the high percentage that have gotten this and recovered, or the fact that it's hard to compare to other countries because of population center and testing differences. Seems like only bad news sells.

I think people need hope among the chaos. Can't wait to hear the sounds of the ball cracking off the bat, and the boat engine firing up.

Going outside to have a beer with my neighbor, while standing 6 feet apart!

They have put the fear of God in everyone, and at times common sense is just being ignored. We went for a ride today, the weather was absolutely beautiful, 62 degrees Know where we went?
The cemetary, can't get in trouble there. Had a good talk with Mom and Dad, then rolled the window down and took in some fresh air on the way home!!!
My hands are so clean I will hate to get them dirty ever again! I have to believe there is a light at the end of the title.

NBC/TV tonight, Celtics championship game 2008 with Paul Pierce doing some commentary.
Boy, can't wait to see who wins.

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/03/espns-doris-burke-reveals-covid-19-diagnosis-is-now-symptom-free.html



ESPN’s Doris Burke reveals COVID-19 diagnosis, is now symptom-free



Updated 3:30 PM; Today 3:20 PM




NBA ESPN announcers Doris Burke and Mark Jones prior an NBA basketball game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)AP



By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com




ESPN NBA analyst revealed on The Woj Pod Friday that she has tested positive for COVID-19.

“Basically my first symptom, looking back on it now, was March 11, which was the day I was broadcasting Denver at Dallas," Burke said. “I remember sitting at lunch with my broadcast crew for that evening, and it is standard for us to have a lunch production meeting, and I looked at my colleagues... and I said ‘man I am so tired right now and my head is pounding.’ Looking back, those were my symptoms.”


That was the same day Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus and the NBA announced its shutdown while the Mavericks and Nuggets were playing. Cuban was caught by ESPN’s cameras.


“I took an aspirin that day, I felt better, I went about the normal business of trying to prep for the game, do the game,” Burke said. “Thursday morning, en route to the airport I had another headache. I had been so tired on that Wednesday that I looked at (ESPN play-by-play broadcaster) Ryan Ruocco and said ‘you know I think I should call ESPN and ask can I switch my flight... and rest for a couple of days."

Burke says she ended up going to her home in Philadelphia, where the fatigue hit her especially hard.

"I was so tired that if I tried to get out of bed for Saturday the 14th through Tuesday March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, I kid you not, I could not be out of bed for five minutes without needing to go back to bed and lay down."

Family and friends advised her to go get tested, which she did at a local hospital.

“The test was suppose to take three-to-five days, in fact it took eight,” Burke said. “I just got confirmed on Wednesday night of this week, even though I have now been symptom-free. I have had no symptoms, I have felt like myself, I’ve started to disinfect my house and launder absolutely everything in sight, but I’m so incredibly thankful to be feeling well.”


As of today, Gobert, his teammate Donovan Mitchell, and Detroit’s Christian Wood have all been cleared and declared free of coronavirus. Eventually, whenever basketball returns, this experience will cause those players and other who have never tested positive to reconsider their interactions with fans.

“It’s going to be interesting how these athletes handle this moving forward," Burke said. She is also one to be stopped by fans, players, and many others in arenas. "I know that I’m going to acknowledge those fans, but I think for a while, safe practices dictate that if we get back into arenas, things might be different.”


bob


.

NYCelt wrote:Light at the end of the tunnel.

Schools in NY State looking at re-opening by April 20.

Kids will have driven parents mad by then.

Wish the press would report on the high percentage that have gotten this and recovered, or the fact that it's hard to compare to other countries because of population center and testing differences. Seems like only bad news sells.

I think people need hope among the chaos. Can't wait to hear the sounds of the ball cracking off the bat, and the boat engine firing up.

Going outside to have a beer with my neighbor, while standing 6 feet apart!

I hope it works out the way you think NYCelt, but all indications from Europe show it probably won't.

The "dark number" for this virus regardless how early the spread is caught is usually pretty high due to the fact that people are most infectious right before they actually start showing symptoms. I also read that both at end of Phase 1(no symptoms) and Phase 2(usually coughing and fever) people produce and excrete several times more virus molecules than normal influenza which is probably why it has been so infectious.

I would be shocked (pleasantly ) if the epidemic is controlled enough in New York by 20 April to actually open schools. Has to be some nation wide clear plan for extremely aggressive testing to really curb the curve and all indications are that US is currently at the base of the hill not near the top.

The high numbers of recovered patients is also probably not existing in US yet. It really takes more than 10 days in almost all cases for full recovery and negative test on 2 consecutive days. (The criteria around here at least). They will come, but unfortunately you should expect the death count to rise before the recovered number moves significantly.

Here in Europe the "good news" number also contains a lot of "dark numbers" as most EU countries do not "log you" into the system when you check out unless you give written consent (the new data protection and privacy rules). So they always report: At least X much people have recovered, but if you are looking at some EU numbers you can probably multiply this by 2 or 3.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2020/03/23/grandma-95-is-oldest-woman-to-recover-from-coronavirus-in-italy/amp/



95 year old woman in Italy survives coronavirus.  The record is held by a 100-year old Chinese man.


bob


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No good news to report down here in GA.  It's blowing up.  Mandatory stay at home order in place.

In my opinion we may need a lockdown. Like China did.  That includes public transportation.  Pockets of Covid 19 is breaking out in a lot of areas now but NYC remains our Wuhan minus the strict containment initiatives.

Stay home and stay safe.  

Schools need to be closed for the remainder of the year.

I got masks.

The false information coming from our health professionals that only sick people with the virus needs masks is the biggest lie being told.

The kid got “furrowed” today, daughter doing her work from home, she is a therapist, so far, so good with her.  He works for Peet’s Coffee Shop, manages two stores in Harvard Square and Wellesley. Paid for two weeks, then got the word they were furlowed. them. Thank God he has a couple of months of sick and vacation time to use. So much for waiting to use vacation for summer! I wonder if anyone will have vacation this summer. 
No surgery for me yet, just sitting here waiting. But I am better off than being in MGH in Boston. 

God bless the nurses and doctors.

Rosalie stay safe.

What boggles my mind is the exposure that our health workers have.

I wonder if all that come in direct contact with patients should be wearing hazmat suits.

not a bad idea to wear some type of face protection if you are around a group of people. Of course we're not supposed to be around a lot of people are we?

not to mention the healthcare workers need the n-95 mask more then we likely do.

Wife and I wear gloves when we venture out to the store (that about the only place we go now). But not masks yet, as we go when the store is less crowded.


some "interesting" articles I have read over the past couple days, not sure if anything at all will come of it ...but who knows.

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/248263/20200323/coronavirus-possibly-come-china-italy-first-detected-strange-pneumonia-months-wuhan-outbreak.htm


https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9


https://www.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-inside-humans-for-years-174855747.html


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/03/26/coronavirus-fact-check-could-your-december-cough-have-been-covid-19/2899027001/


some interesting articles that may or may not have anything to do with one another.

stay safe folks!

kdp59

I have 2 doctors in my family.   They told me I should not go out in public to a grocery store without a mask on.

The thing is, I really did not need that advice from them.

I already figured out that masks are in short supply for hospital workers so the media keeps telling us that we only need to wear a mask if we are infected.  That is of course an absolute lie and it defies any reasonable logic considering what we do know about how the virus spreads.   It's airborne.  If an infected person coughs or sneezes they will propel droplets into the air and the smaller ones can create an aerosol effect.  They do not disappear right away.

If you go to the grocery store and someone (who is infected) was just in the same airspace and coughed or sneezed, you may breathe the virus in through your nose or your mouth.  

It is no different than the common cold accept the common cold is far less deadly.  You know your reaction if you are around someone with a cold that sneezes or coughs?  

We know that masks are worn in Asian countries.  It is really a cultural thing which Americans have not adopted.  The top infection expert in South Korea said we should wear masks.   Now we have even heard the president mention wearing masks.    During the 1918 Spanish flu the authorities wanted people to wear masks.

Suddenly and ironically Batman becomes the new fashion mode.

bobheckler wrote:This was forwarded to me by way of a friend.  It was written by an Assistant Professor at John Hopkins University.


* The virus is not a living organism, but a protein molecule (DNA) covered by a protective layer of lipid (fat), which, when absorbed by the cells of the ocular, nasal or buccal mucosa, changes their genetic code.  (mutation) and convert them into aggressor and multiplier cells.
* Since the virus is not a living organism but a protein molecule, it is not killed, but decays on its own.  The disintegration time depends on the temperature, humidity and type of material where it lies.
* The virus is very fragile;  the only thing that protects it is a thin outer layer of fat.  That is why any soap or detergent is the best remedy, because the foam CUTS the FAT (that is why you have to rub so much: for 20 seconds or more, to make a lot of foam).  By dissolving the fat layer, the protein molecule disperses and breaks down on its own.
* HEAT melts fat;  this is why it is so good to use water above 25 degrees Celsius for washing hands, clothes and everything.  In addition, hot water makes more foam and that makes it even more useful.
* Alcohol or any mixture with alcohol over 65% DISSOLVES ANY FAT, especially the external lipid layer of the virus.
* Any mix with 1 part bleach and 5 parts water directly dissolves the protein, breaks it down from the inside.
* Oxygenated water helps long after soap, alcohol and chlorine, because peroxide dissolves the virus protein, but you have to use it pure and it hurts your skin.
* NO BACTERICIDE SERVES.  The virus is not a living organism like bacteria;  they cannot kill what is not alive with anthobiotics, but quickly disintegrate its structure with everything said.
* NEVER shake used or unused clothing, sheets or cloth.  While it is glued to a porous surface, it is very inert and disintegrates only between 3 hours (fabric and porous), 4 hours (copper, because it is naturally antiseptic; and wood, be
cause it removes all the moisture and does not let it peel off and disintegrates).  ), 24 hours (cardboard), 42 hours (metal) and 72 hours (plastic).  But if you shake it or use a feather duster, the virus molecules float in the air for up to 3 hours, and can lodge in your nose.
* The virus molecules remain very stable in external cold, or artificial as air conditioners in houses and cars.  They also need moisture to stay stable, and especially darkness.  Therefore, dehumidified, dry, warm and bright environments will degrade it faster.
* UV LIGHT on any object that may contain it breaks down the virus protein.  For example, to disinfect and reuse a mask is perfect.  Be careful, it also breaks down collagen (which is protein) in the skin, eventually causing wrinkles and skin cancer.
* The virus CANNOT go through healthy skin.
* Vinegar is NOT useful because it does not break down the protective layer of fat.
* NO SPIRITS, NOR VODKA, serve.  The strongest vodka is 40% alcohol, and you need 65%.
* LISTERINE IF IT SERVES!  It is 65% alcohol.
* The more confined the space, the more concentration of the virus there can be.  The more open or naturally ventilated, the less.
* This is super said, but you have to wash your hands before and after touching mucosa, food, locks, knobs, switches, remote control, cell phone, watches, computers, desks, TV, etc.  And when using the bathroom.
* You have to HUMIDIFY HANDS DRY from so much washing them, because the molecules can hide in the micro cracks.  The thicker the moisturizer, the better.  * Also keep your NAILS SHORT so that the virus does not hide there.


bob


.

Hey Bob - I think the thing your friend forwarded is Fake news. I actually read an article about this particle thing circulating social media as fake news. This is not actually from Hopkins, and there are so many blatantly incorrect statements in it that it realistically cannot be from an assistant professor. Unless maybe they are a professor in something other than science.

First, Corona is not a DNA virus, it is an RNA virus. Technically it is what is called a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus. In this case, the virus uses a single strand of RNA to code for its genetic material, not double-stranded DNA like all other life. It is surrounded by a membrane (like fat - sort of...), and there are many proteins embedded in that membrane. Those proteins are recognized by our cells, and this is how the virus tricks our cells into letting the virus in. Once inside, the virus borrows our cellular machinery to make many copies of itself, which are then released to infect other cells and hosts.

It does not change the genetic code of the cells it infects or convert those cells into aggressor multiplier cells. I suspect the author meant the virus hijacks the cellular machinery to replicate itself, but that is quite different than chnging the hosts genetic code. Viruses are a little sloppy about replicating their own genetic material, and they often make "mistakes". In this way, viruses change, or evolve over time. This is why it is so hard to make a good flu vaccine - influenza evolves such that it looks different enought from the vaccine strain that our immune system no longer recognizes it as a foreign invader. Coronaviruses also evolve in this way, but much more slowly than influenza (or even HIV), which is good for vaccine development. That being said, vaccine development is not trivial. Researchers have been trying to make vaccines against SARS, covid-19's close cousin, since the early 2000s with no success so far. Hopefully increased NIH funding will accelerate things.

I am not sure what "oxygenated" water is. The solubility of oxygen in water is actually quite low - that is why we have hemoglobin. Hemoglobin binds and carries oxygen in our blood because our cellular demand for oxygen exceeds the ability of water alone to carry it. I think they may mean hydrogen peroxide???, which probably does kill the virus.

Some of the things have truth - soap and hand-washing is key!!!!

UV can damage RNA and DNA for sure, but average people using UV to disinfect is neither safe nor realistic.

Alcohol, even 40% vodka, probably disinfects. Listerine is not 65% alcohol, more like 30...

Moisture probably helps the virus "survive" as drying out will eventually make it unable to infect.

This "fake news" piece is not nearly as dangerous as some others, and indeed has some good advice about hand washing, but readers should know it is nothing official from Hopkins. I also really doubt it was written by an assistant professor - if it was, this person is not going to get tenure, that's for sure.

I love this thread, and all the info we share, but we have to be wary of all the misinformation out there, coming from all sorts of different sources and levels.

Still way too much fear mongering going on in my non-medical opinion.

Here in the Rochester NY area, we have the University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Medical Center. Among the worlds leading centers for several specialties, and a top immunology research hospital. They're one of the research facilities working on Covid-19 related treatments and vaccines.

My friend teaches there, in addition to his practice, and this is the video he says has circulated among the doctors and dentists there. It's simple, and a little long (24 minutes), done by a doctor from a leading immunology hospital in the Metro NY area. It's a video that has made the rounds on a fairly wide basis now, and I find it appealing since it's not hyped up conjecture. Maybe you've seen it, but if not;

https://vimeo.com/401923670

The bottom line is three-fold;

1. Long sustained contact; 15 - 30 minutes plus, in close quarters with an infected person puts you at high risk

2. Wash your hands, keep them clean

3. Don't touch your face

Observe those three things, and you're not going to catch this virus. That's it. Kind of like a basketball big 3.

I'll trust and follow the doctors. I like facts. This is just one more example of why it's a good idea to turn off the news.

worcester wrote:Suddenly and ironically Batman becomes the new fashion mode.

I like this a lot better than anything I've posted lately.

Quote of the day winner goes to W.

COMMON SENSE, THAT IS WHAT IT BOILS DOWN TO!!!!!!!!!

Listen, I have hardly left this house in over three weeks, except to go to a hospital, or a long ride on a good day. My kids won't come over, haven't seen my family in weeks our friends. It just is something we have to do. Someone is doing the shopping for us, I won't have any skin left from washing them so much! But, we accept what is. Too much information can be just as dangerous as too little. So, sit still, it is going to be a bumpy ride, but, hopefully, this too shall pass.

Posted at the request of Dr. Worcester, in the New England Journal of Medicine..


https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2002387



Covid-19 — Navigating the Uncharted



List of authors.
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., H. Clifford Lane, M.D., and Robert R. Redfield, M.D.


March 26, 2020
N Engl J Med 2020; 382:1268-1269
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe2002387


The latest threat to global health is the ongoing outbreak of the respiratory disease that was recently given the name Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19). Covid-19 was recognized in December 2019.1 It was rapidly shown to be caused by a novel coronavirus that is structurally related to the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). As in two preceding instances of emergence of coronavirus disease in the past 18 years2 — SARS (2002 and 2003) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) (2012 to the present) — the Covid-19 outbreak has posed critical challenges for the public health, research, and medical communities.

In their Journal article, Li and colleagues3 provide a detailed clinical and epidemiologic description of the first 425 cases reported in the epicenter of the outbreak: the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China. Although this information is critical in informing the appropriate response to this outbreak, as the authors point out, the study faces the limitation associated with reporting in real time the evolution of an emerging pathogen in its earliest stages. Nonetheless, a degree of clarity is emerging from this report. The median age of the patients was 59 years, with higher morbidity and mortality among the elderly and among those with coexisting conditions (similar to the situation with influenza); 56% of the patients were male. Of note, there were no cases in children younger than 15 years of age. Either children are less likely to become infected, which would have important epidemiologic implications, or their symptoms were so mild that their infection escaped detection, which has implications for the size of the denominator of total community infections.

On the basis of a case definition requiring a diagnosis of pneumonia, the currently reported case fatality rate is approximately 2%.4 In another article in the Journal, Guan et al.5 report mortality of 1.4% among 1099 patients with laboratory-confirmed Covid-19; these patients had a wide spectrum of disease severity. If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively.2

The efficiency of transmission for any respiratory virus has important implications for containment and mitigation strategies. The current study indicates an estimated basic reproduction number (R0) of 2.2, which means that, on average, each infected person spreads the infection to an additional two persons. As the authors note, until this number falls below 1.0, it is likely that the outbreak will continue to spread. Recent reports of high titers of virus in the oropharynx early in the course of disease arouse concern about increased infectivity during the period of minimal symptoms.6,7

China, the United States, and several other countries have instituted temporary restrictions on travel with an eye toward slowing the spread of this new disease within China and throughout the rest of the world. The United States has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of travelers from China, especially from Hubei province. At least on a temporary basis, such restrictions may have helped slow the spread of the virus: whereas 78,191 laboratory-confirmed cases had been identified in China as of February 26, 2020, a total of 2918 cases had been confirmed in 37 other countries or territories.4 As of February 26, 2020, there had been 14 cases detected in the United States involving travel to China or close contacts with travelers, 3 cases among U.S. citizens repatriated from China, and 42 cases among U.S. passengers repatriated from a cruise ship where the infection had spread.8 However, given the efficiency of transmission as indicated in the current report, we should be prepared for Covid-19 to gain a foothold throughout the world, including in the United States. Community spread in the United States could require a shift from containment to mitigation strategies such as social distancing in order to reduce transmission. Such strategies could include isolating ill persons (including voluntary isolation at home), school closures, and telecommuting where possible.9

A robust research effort is currently under way to develop a vaccine against Covid-19.10 We anticipate that the first candidates will enter phase 1 trials by early spring. Therapy currently consists of supportive care while a variety of investigational approaches are being explored.11 Among these are the antiviral medication lopinavir–ritonavir, interferon-1β, the RNA polymerase inhibitor remdesivir, chloroquine, and a variety of traditional Chinese medicine products.11 Once available, intravenous hyperimmune globulin from recovered persons and monoclonal antibodies may be attractive candidates to study in early intervention. Critical to moving the field forward, even in the context of an outbreak, is ensuring that investigational products are evaluated in scientifically and ethically sound studies.12

Every outbreak provides an opportunity to gain important information, some of which is associated with a limited window of opportunity. For example, Li et al. report a mean interval of 9.1 to 12.5 days between the onset of illness and hospitalization. This finding of a delay in the progression to serious disease may be telling us something important about the pathogenesis of this new virus and may provide a unique window of opportunity for intervention. Achieving a better understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease will be invaluable in navigating our responses in this uncharted arena. Furthermore, genomic studies could delineate host factors that predispose persons to acquisition of infection and disease progression.

The Covid-19 outbreak is a stark reminder of the ongoing challenge of emerging and reemerging infectious pathogens and the need for constant surveillance, prompt diagnosis, and robust research to understand the basic biology of new organisms and our susceptibilities to them, as well as to develop effective countermeasures.



bob


.

Here is a very good article about the new Corona virus. It is written in an understandable way for lay people, but is written by an expert and thus is quite accurate. I have pasted the text below, but I recommend going to the link to see a video and possibly follow embedded hyper-links. Stay healthy:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-does-body-makes-deadly-123207992.html



What the coronavirus does to your body that makes it so deadly

COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Coronaviruses belong to a group of viruses that infect animals, from peacocks to whales. They’re named for the bulb-tipped spikes that project from the virus’s surface and give the appearance of a corona surrounding it.

A coronavirus infection usually plays out one of two ways: as an infection in the lungs that includes some cases of what people would call the common cold, or as an infection in the gut that causes diarrhea. COVID-19 starts out in the lungs like the common cold coronaviruses, but then causes havoc with the immune system that can lead to long-term lung damage or death.

SARS-CoV-2 is genetically very similar to other human respiratory coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. However, the subtle genetic differences translate to significant differences in how readily a coronavirus infects people and how it makes them sick.

SARS-CoV-2 has all the same genetic equipment as the original SARS-CoV, which caused a global outbreak in 2003, but with around 6,000 mutations sprinkled around in the usual places where coronaviruses change. Think whole milk versus skim milk.

Compared to other human coronaviruses like MERS-CoV, which emerged in the Middle East in 2012, the new virus has customized versions of the same general equipment for invading cells and copying itself. However, SARS-CoV-2 has a totally different set of genes called accessories, which give this new virus a little advantage in specific situations. For example, MERS has a particular protein that shuts down a cell’s ability to sound the alarm about a viral intruder. SARS-CoV-2 has an unrelated gene with an as-yet unknown function in that position in its genome. Think cow milk versus almond milk.

How the virus infects

Every coronavirus infection starts with a virus particle, a spherical shell that protects a single long string of genetic material and inserts it into a human cell. The genetic material instructs the cell to make around 30 different parts of the virus, allowing the virus to reproduce. The cells that SARS-CoV-2 prefers to infect have a protein called ACE2 on the outside that is important for regulating blood pressure.

The infection begins when the long spike proteins that protrude from the virus particle latch on to the cell’s ACE2 protein. From that point, the spike transforms, unfolding and refolding itself using coiled spring-like parts that start out buried at the core of the spike. The reconfigured spike hooks into the cell and crashes the virus particle and cell together. This forms a channel where the string of viral genetic material can snake its way into the unsuspecting cell.

SARS-CoV-2 spreads from person to person by close contact. The Shincheonji Church outbreak in South Korea in February provides a good demonstration of how and how quickly SARS-CoV-2 spreads. It seems one or two people with the virus sat face to face very close to uninfected people for several minutes at a time in a crowded room. Within two weeks, several thousand people in the country were infected, and more than half of the infections at that point were attributable to the church. The outbreak got to a fast start because public health authorities were unaware of the potential outbreak and were not testing widely at that stage. Since then, authorities have worked hard and the number of new cases in South Korea has been falling steadily.

How the virus makes people sick

SARS-CoV-2 grows in type II lung cells, which secrete a soap-like substance that helps air slip deep into the lungs, and in cells lining the throat. As with SARS, most of the damage in COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, is caused by the immune system carrying out a scorched earth defense to stop the virus from spreading. Millions of cells from the immune system invade the infected lung tissue and cause massive amounts of damage in the process of cleaning out the virus and any infected cells.

Each COVID-19 lesion ranges from the size of a grape to the size of a grapefruit. The challenge for health care workers treating patients is to support the body and keep the blood oxygenated while the lung is repairing itself.

SARS-CoV-2 has a sliding scale of severity. Patients under age 10 seem to clear the virus easily, most people under 40 seem to bounce back quickly, but older people suffer from increasingly severe COVID-19. The ACE2 protein that SARS-CoV-2 uses as a door to enter cells is also important for regulating blood pressure, and it does not do its job when the virus gets there first. This is one reason COVID-19 is more severe in people with high blood pressure.

SARS-CoV-2 is more severe than seasonal influenza in part because it has many more ways to stop cells from calling out to the immune system for help. For example, one way that cells try to respond to infection is by making interferon, the alarm signaling protein. SARS-CoV-2 blocks this by a combination of camouflage, snipping off protein markers from the cell that serve as distress beacons and finally shredding any anti-viral instructions that the cell makes before they can be used. As a result, COVID-19 can fester for a month, causing a little damage each day, while most people get over a case of the flu in less than a week.

At present, the transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 is a little higher than that of the pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, but SARS-CoV-2 is at least 10 times as deadly. From the data that is available now, COVID-19 seems a lot like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), though it’s less likely than SARS to be severe.

What isn’t known

There are still many mysteries about this virus and coronaviruses in general – the nuances of how they cause disease, the way they interact with proteins inside the cell, the structure of the proteins that form new viruses and how some of the basic virus-copying machinery works.

Another unknown is how COVID-19 will respond to changes in the seasons. The flu tends to follow cold weather, both in the northern and southern hemispheres. Some other human coronaviruses spread at a low level year-round, but then seem to peak in the spring. But nobody really knows for sure why these viruses vary with the seasons.

What is amazing so far in this outbreak is all the good science that has come out so quickly. The research community learned about structures of the virus spike protein and the ACE2 protein with part of the spike protein attached just a little over a month after the genetic sequence became available. I spent my first 20 or so years working on coronaviruses without the benefit of either. This bodes well for better understanding, preventing and treating COVID-19.