Vaccinations - Infections - Viruses - Colds - Flu
Vaccines Explained -
Colds -
Covid -
Viruses -
Flu -
Pandemic
-
Diseases -
Antibiotics -
Infection
You have the
right to refuse a
vaccine or
say no to a vaccine when you
have
valid reasons that
are based on
facts.
But if you are seeking a
fake exemption or if you're an
Anti-Vaxxer who
does not have valid
reasons, then your
ignorance may be a
threat to other
people
and not just a threat to yourself. You need to explain the exact
vaccine that you're taking about? You have to know who is the individual
receiving the vaccine and why the individual needs the vaccine and what
the vaccine is for? You have to know what are the risks for receiving the
vaccine as well as the
risks you are taking if you do not receive the
vaccine, which is best explained using facts, numbers, proof and
confirmed
evidence. You don't want to look like nut job or a
raving maniac who needs to be in a mental
health facility. But for some reason, morons can have a voice, just like
some of the people on
Fox News, who are extremely
dangerous terrorists that threaten the well being and mental health of
innocent people all over the world. This behavior is totally irresponsible
and unwarranted.
Human Rights -
Exemptions -
Right to Try -
Number Needed to TreatWe know that most
people are not against
vaccines, because most vaccines are
beneficial. But people do have concerns. So people need a clear
understanding of the
reasons why they need a
particular vaccine and know how much they need and when? People also
need to know
all the
ingredients that are
in the vaccine? People have the right to know the
facts and
understand their
choices and
the
effectiveness of certain vaccines.
Consent - Permission - Educated Decision
Consent is having
permission to do
something or have access to
personal information. To give an affirmative reply or response that
gives your approval.
Implied Consent is consent which is
not expressly granted by
a person, but rather implicitly granted by a person's actions and the
facts and circumstances of a particular situation. In some cases,
a person's silence or inaction
is the same as saying yes.
Informed Consent is having a clear
understanding
of the
facts,
implications,
risks, and the
consequences of an
action.
When you're fully
informed, you can give
legal and logical
permission to someone before they conduct a healthcare
intervention on
you.
Informed consent is the process in which a health care provider
educates a patient about
the risks, benefits, and
alternatives of a given procedure or
intervention. The
patient must be competent to make a
voluntary decision about whether to undergo
the procedure or intervention.
Human Rights
-
Transparency -
Fine Print -
Disclaimer -
Opt Out -
Mentally Able -
Mature -
Unconstitutional
-
No means No -
My Body My Choice -
Effectiveness
-
Entrapment -
False Evidence -
Conscientious Objector -
Passive -
Accessory to a Crime
-
Involuntary
Servitude -
Conformity
Dangers -
Engineering ConsentFull Disclosure is to
fully
disclose evidence of proven factual
information gathered and presented to
an individual or group. And the acknowledgement of possible
conflicts of interest
in one's work.
Pretending to
understand something can be extremely
dangerous.
Involuntary Treatment refers to medical treatment undertaken without
the consent of the person being treated. Involuntary treatment is
permitted by law in some countries when overseen by the judiciary through
court orders; other countries defer directly to the medical opinions of
doctors. In
medical
ethics, involuntary treatment is conceptualized as a form of
parens patriae whereby the state takes on
the responsibilities of incompetent adults on the basis of the duty to
protect and the duty of beneficence (the duty of the state to repair the
random harms of nature).
Ginny Pigs -
Big Pharma -
Drug War
Silence
Procedure states that "
he who is silent is taken to agree", "silence
implies/means consent") is a way of formally adopting texts, often, but
not exclusively in international political context.
Asking Questions
-
Consumer Warnings
-
Hospital Infections -
Number Needed to Treat
Consent of the Governed refers to the idea that a government's
legitimacy and moral right to use state power is
only justified and lawful when consented to by the people or society
over which that political power is exercised. This theory of
consent is historically contrasted to the divine right of kings and had
often been invoked against the legitimacy of colonialism. Article 21 of
the United Nation's 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that
"
The will of the people shall be the basis of the
authority of government".
Liberty
-
Sovereignty -
Will Power
Consent Form is a form signed by a patient prior to a medical
procedure to confirm that he or she agrees to the procedure and is
aware of any risks that might be
involved. The primary purpose of the consent form is to
provide evidence
that the patient gave consent to the procedure in question.
Authorization is a
document giving
an
official instructions, permission or approval.
Permission is the act of giving a formal or
written
authorization that gives approval
for someone to do something.
Dissent is
non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea.
Strawman.
Compliance in psychology refers to a response—specifically, a
submission—made in
reaction to a request. Defined as the effect that the words, actions, or
mere presence of other people (real or imagined) have on our thoughts,
feelings, attitudes, or behavior;
social influence
is the driving force behind
compliance. It is important that psychologists
and ordinary people alike recognize that social influence extends beyond
our behavior—to our thoughts, feelings and
beliefs—and that it takes
on many forms.
Persuasion and the gaining of compliance are particularly significant
types of social influence since they utilize the respective effect's power
to attain the
submission
of others. Studying compliance is significant because it is a type of
social influence that affects our everyday behavior—especially social
interactions. Compliance itself is a complicated concept that must be
studied in depth so that its uses, implications and both its theoretical
and experimental approaches may be better understood.
Military Draft -
Doctrine.If everyone signs
non-disclosure agreements, then how will the public be informed of
negligence and
abuse? Companies are using non-disclosure
agreements to get away with committing crimes and to silence victims of
crimes, allowing the criminals to keep committing more
crimes.
You have the Right to Remain Silent, but
sometimes you have to speak and be
heard. And if you want to be understood, you have to learn some things
first in order to know how to explain the injustice that you are trying to
inform people about. You don't want to sound like a raving lunatic or
sound like those
small
talkers in the media who explain very little, because that will end up
just
spreading ignorance like a disease.
Consent to Operate is a certificate
that is needed by the manufacturers when the industry is established and
is
ready to operate, as per the stipulated norms under the
Water Act and the
Air Act,
which is mandated by the Central Pollution Control Board guidelines that
no proposed industry is allowed within the approved residential area
stipulated by Municipal Corporation. No orange or red category industries
must be established within the municipal corporation limits barring the
industrial areas/zone. The Air and Water Act also
stipulates the punishment for producers if any industry falling
into green/orange or red is functioning without
obtaining consent from State Pollution Control Board. The punishment
prescribed under the act is imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3
months or a fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or both. The
manufacturer or the owner of the industry is held legally responsible for
the punishment.
Documents required to
obtain Consent to Operate are: Health Trade License, Factory/Trade
License, Authorisation Letter, Pan Card and the Aadhar Card, Municipality
or Industry License, Proof of Registration of unit, Site Plan, Water Bill,
GST certificate, Environmental Statement (form-V), CA Letter on the total
price of the plan, FSSAI Certificate (in case of a food-related business),
Electricity Bill, Proof of ownership.
Consent to Establish requires registering through the Online
Consent Management and Monitoring System of the
concerned
State Pollution Control Boards. The application to be uploaded should
have all the mandatory info along with the documents required to be
enclosed with the application. This is followed by a
mandatory inspection of the unit by the
official personnel of the State Pollution Control Board/Pollution Control
Committee. After the assessment of the manufacturing unit and
authorization of the respective committee, the decision for authorization
is taken. Further, under the process of describing Consent To Operate v/s
Consent To Establish, if the producers or manufacturers cannot establish
the industry within the obligatory time, the manufacturer is instructed to
register for the leeway of the certificate one month after the expiration
of the certificate. The certificate will be delivered after the authorized
officer has finished his inspection.
Opting Out by Default
Op Out should be by default, and you should
only
Opt In when you want to give someone
permission, someone that you trust. And you should only opt in when you
fully understand the
risks and the
benefits. The
default
option is the
option the
chooser will obtain if he or she
does
nothing.
Passive
-
Consent -
You Vote Everyday -
Not to Choose is to Choose -
Procrastination -
I Don't Feel like
Doing it
Opt-Out Systems
in
organ donation will
occur
automatically unless a specific request is made before death for organs
not to be taken. So anyone who has not refused consent to donate is a
donor. If you don't refuse consent, then
you give consent. If you
don't say anything, then someone will assume that you said yes. A
presumed consent system, it is assumed that individuals do
intend to
donate their organs.
Default Effect
is the option the
chooser will
obtain if he or she
does nothing. Broader
interpretations of
default options include
options that are normative or suggested. Experiments and observational
studies show that making an option a default
increases the likelihood that
it is chosen; this is called the default effect. Different causes for this
effect have been discussed. Setting or changing defaults therefore has
been proposed as an effective way of influencing behavior—for example,
with respect to deciding whether to become an organ donor, giving consent
to receive e-mail marketing, or choosing the level of one's retirement contributions.
By Default is an option that is
selected automatically unless an alternative is specified. You choose, or
you
lose your ability to choose, and someone else chooses for you.
Default is lossing because you did not show up. A loss resulting from
failure to do something.
Default in computing is when a person assumes a particular value when none
other is specified.
Public Health Insurance Option is a proposed
alternative health
insurance plan offered by the government that would compete with other
private health insurance companies within the United States.
Negative Option Billing is a business practice in which customers are
given goods or services that were not previously ordered, and must either
continue to pay for the service or specifically decline it in advance of
billing. According to the Federal Trade Commission, unsolicited goods are
considered a gift, and the recipient is not required to pay for or return
them. This is different than situations where a customer signs up for a
service or club without reading fine print and agrees to purchase goods
through the mail. negative option billing is the model on which mail order
services, such as Columbia House, and other book clubs are structured.
Exemptions - Reasons
Religious Exemption is when some parents or people either use
fake religious adherence
or invent fake religions in order to get an exemption that is
not based on facts or
science. Although exemptions vary
from state to state, all school immunization laws grant
exemptions to
children for
medical reasons. Almost all states grant religious exemptions
for people who have religious beliefs against immunizations.
There are almost no
religions that object to vaccinations. We have a strong tradition of
protecting the freedom of religion in our country, as we should.
The First Amendment
specifically guarantees that the government cannot prohibit “
the free
exercise” of religion. In plain English, that means every individual has
the right to hold their own religious beliefs and to engage in actions or
practices in support of those religious beliefs without
government
intrusion. The Supreme Court has acknowledged it would be absurd to allow
people to
opt out of many generally applicable laws by simply claiming
their religious beliefs compelled
contrary action, especially when that
would actually harm the rule of law, public safety and general welfare.
Contradictions.
Religious Charlatans
-
Above the Law
-
Immunity -
Privileged -
Invalid Arguments -
Draft
Exemptions -
Law is
Debatable -
Truth is Debatable -
Separation of Church and State
Religious Fundamentalism, delusions, and
conspiracy beliefs
related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Exception is the act of excepting something or excluding something
because it does not fall under the current rule or the intended meaning of
a law. An instance that does not conform to a rule or generalization. A
special case to which a rule does not apply. A person or thing that is
excluded from a general statement or does not follow a rule.
It is not a valid
defense to a crime to cite a religious belief or religiously
imposed duty.
Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1878). But I have a
right to
defend myself if I do have valid reasons. We know the government can
sometimes impose
regulations, even if those regulations burden actions
taken in furtherance of religious beliefs. But when? The Supreme Court
concluded in 1940, “Conduct remains subject to regulation for the
protection of society.”
Employment Div. v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990). A law is constitutional
under the Free Exercise Clause if it is facially neutral and generally
applied. Respondents Smith and Black were fired by a private
drug
rehabilitation organization because they ingested peyote, a
hallucinogenic
drug. Their applications for unemployment compensation were denied by the
State of Oregon under a state law disqualifying employees discharged for
work-related "misconduct."
Right to Try.
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (1993). Congress adopted the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to override the Supreme Court
decision in Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon
v. Smith (1990) and provide greater protection under the
First Amendment free
exercise clause.
There Needs to be
Exemptions because individuals can have special needs and unique
requirements and vulnerabilities. People have a
right to legally defend themselves,
even against the government. But a person must have the right to explain
their case and have a right to a fair trial. The
drug war and prohibition is just
two examples of corrupt government overreach.
Vulnerabilities.
Medical Exemptions: All 50 states allow
exemptions for children who have a
valid medical reason, and almost all
states allow
nonmedical exemptions for
parents with either religious or philosophical objections.
Antibodies.
Medical Exemption is an exception to compulsory school immunization
laws, based upon a medical condition. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), all 50 states allow school children to be
exempted from vaccination requirements
for medical reasons.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills on Monday September 10th 2019 to
crack down on doctors who
write fraudulent medical exemptions for school
children's vaccinations. The bill,
SB 276, aims to crack down on
bogus medical exemptions.
Legitimate is something based on
known statements, events or
conditions. In accordance with
recognized
or
accepted standards or
principles. Something that is authorized or sanctioned by
experts, or in
accordance with law or conforming to
the law or to rules.
Justified.
Excuse is a
reason which you
give in order to explain why something has been done or has not been done,
or in order to avoid doing something.
When the government forces people to take vaccines, and also threatens
people who don't comply, and at the same time, the government offers no
alternatives, no options, no health advice, or offers tests that would
help verify
immunity or
vulnerability,
and instead of just testing people for a negative or
positive covid result, all I can think about is
Jonestown. People are being setup to take the real poison in the
future. We know that history repeats itself, mostly because
schools never teach
people the truth about history, or do people learn the facts about
their world that would help protect them from the ignorance of corrupted
individuals. When people show how gullible and naive they are, there will
always be criminals ready to exploit them. Booster shot? The only thing
that they're boosting is peoples concern.
And now they're going after children.
If the covid-18 vaccine is 91% effective at preventing symptomatic
infection in young children, does this mean that children will be infected
and not know it, thus spreading the virus even more? If the covid-19
vaccine for children would help prevent hospitalizations and death from
COVID-19, that would only be for children who are the
most vulnerable? Which means that majority of
children should not be vaccinated. This makes it seem like the
zombie apocalypse is upon
us. The
corporate
controlled government and the
corporate controlled
media are now using the words efficacy and effectiveness to manipulate
the truth and to blur the facts. Science has been abandoned and replaced
with propaganda, which is nothing new. These corporate puppets are more
concerned with protecting profits than they are with protecting people. When they say 90%
effective, you should ask, effective against what? Effective against
getting the virus, or effective against spreading the virus? Effective
against being hospitalized because of the virus or effective against dying
from the virus? And exactly who is being protected the most from this
vaccine? Is it the majority of the millions of people who never get sick
or show symptoms, or is it just the most vulnerable people who are a small
percentage of the population? And just how did you determine this efficacy
rate?
Were the participants of the study hand picked?
And what were the requirements of these handpicked individuals?
Effectiveness - Efficacy
Efficacy
is the ability to produce a desired or intended result.
Efficacy is the
capacity or the power
to produce a desired effect. Vaccine efficacy is the relative reduction in
the risk or
risk benefit
ratio. Efficacy is a measurement made during a
clinical trial. The
people who join clinical trials are not a perfect reflection of the
population at large, and the
results can be easily
skewed to make misleading claims.
Effectiveness
is the quality of being able to bring about an
effect.
Effectiveness is how well the vaccine works out in the real world.
Efficiency.
Effective is producing or
capable of
producing an intended result or having a striking effect. Able to
accomplish a purpose.
Biological Plausibility is one component of a method of reasoning that
can establish a cause-and-effect relationship between a biological factor
and a particular disease or
adverse event. It is also an important part of the process of
evaluating whether a proposed therapy, drug, vaccine or surgical
procedure, has a real benefit to a patient. This concept has application
to many controversial public affairs debates, such as that over the causes
of adverse vaccination outcomes. Biological plausibility is the
proposal of a causal association—a relationship between a putative cause
and an outcome—that is consistent with existing biological and medical
knowledge.
Why are
flu vaccines only about
60 Percent
Effective? If that's the case, then
education is
more effective than vaccines.
The
vaccine does not protect you from spreading the virus, it
only gives you a 60% chance of not getting sick from a
certain virus. The
flu
vaccine is an educated guess.
Seasonal flu vaccinations don't 'stick' long-term in bone marrow.
Contrast to childhood vaccinations. Seasonal flu vaccination does increase
the number of
antibody-producing cells specific for flu in the bone
marrow. However, most of the newly generated cells are lost within one
year, researchers found.
Comparative Effectiveness Research
-
Repeatability -
Pros and Cons -
Cancer TreatmentsUnlike vaccines for
measles or polio that work more than 90
percent of the time, the new
Malaria Vaccine has an efficacy rate between
26 and 36 percent.
The Cutter Incident: How America's First
Polio Vaccine Led to a Growing Vaccine Crisis. In April 1955 more than
200,000 children in five Western and mid-Western USA states received a
polio vaccine in which the process of inactivating the live virus proved
to be defective. Within days there were reports of paralysis and within a
month the first mass vaccination program against polio had to be
abandoned. Subsequent investigations revealed that the vaccine,
manufactured by the California-based family firm of Cutter Laboratories,
had
caused 40,000 cases of polio, leaving
200 children with varying degrees of paralysis and killing 10.
Cutter Laboratories was a family-owned pharmaceutical company located
in Berkeley, California, founded by Edward Ahern Cutter in 1897. Cutter's
early products included anthrax vaccine, hog cholera (swine fever) virus,
and anti-hog cholera serum—and eventually a hog cholera vaccine. The Bayer
pharmaceutical company bought Cutter Laboratories in 1974.
SV40 is
an abbreviation for simian vacuolating virus 40 or simian virus 40, a
polyomavirus that is found in both monkeys and humans. Like other
polyomaviruses, SV40 is a DNA virus that sometimes causes tumors in
animals, but most often persists as a latent infection. SV40 has been
widely studied as a model eukaryotic virus, leading to many early
discoveries in eukaryotic DNA replication and transcription.
Number Needed to Treat - Number Needed to Educate
Number Needed to Treat is the average number of patients who need to
be
treated to
prevent one additional
bad outcome. e.g. the number of
patients that need to be treated for one to benefit compared with a
control in a clinical trial. NNT is the effectiveness of a health-care
intervention, typically a treatment with medication.
If people are
harmed more than they are helped
by a drug, then you need to understand why. If the benefits outweigh the
risks, or if the
risks outweigh the benefits,
then you need to understand why.
Number Needed to Harm is an average of one patient who would not
otherwise have been
harmed.
Risk Benefit Ratio.
Number Needed to Vaccinate states that the number of people
needed to be vaccinated is sometimes small. So vaccinating more people
does not make people safer, especially when the
vaccination may have the
potential to
do more
harm then good if given to more people than needed. Protecting the most
vulnerable people is a priority, but there is still
risks involved.
Effect Size is a quantitative measure of the strength of a
phenomenon. Examples of effect sizes are the correlation between two
variables, the regression coefficient in a regression, the mean
difference, or even the risk with which something happens, such as how
many people survive after a heart attack for every one person that does
not survive. For each type of effect size, a larger absolute value always
indicates a stronger effect. Effect sizes complement statistical
hypothesis testing, and play an important role in power analyses, sample
size planning, and in meta-analyses. They are the first item (magnitude)
in the MAGIC criteria for evaluating the strength of a
statistical claim.
Herd Immunity occurs when a large percentage of a population
has become immune to an infection, thereby providing a measure of
protection for individuals who are not
immune. But just being immune does
not mean you or someone else can't be a
carrier of an infectious disease.
Poor quality food, poor quality water, poor quality air, and a poor
quality education all contribute to disease vulnerabilities.
Number Needed to Educate.
Herd Immunity from Ignorance. What is
the percentage of a population that would help people be immune from the
actions of
ignorant people
or
propaganda? It only takes a few ignorant people to cause
damage and increase vulnerabilities of the whole herd.
Ignorance Does Not Discriminate. Most
people are extremely vulnerable to the horrible effects that
ignorance
brings. The best inoculation is education, and a commitment to life long
learning that will help keep you protected from the ignorance-virus that
has
infected
millions of people. There are a lot of
parasites in the world. Ignorance is a
communicable
disease. Having enough valuable knowledge and information can help you
to be immune to almost every disease in the world.
Knowledge is the cure
because it helps
prevent
a lot of mistakes that people can make. You need protection from
viruses of the mind.
Vaccine helps to build up anti-bodies so
that
people can defend themselves against virus's. We need a
vaccine to help people guard themselves against
ignorance and
corruption. We will call it a
Real High Quality Education Vaccine, or an
inoculation
against ignorance.
This way when children grow up, they will have enough knowledge
and skills and anti-bodies to defend themselves, and others, from
corruption, abuse, waste and other crimes that kill millions
every year.
It's not just the lack of a vaccine that
will kill you, it's the lack of knowledge about how to protect
yourself from a particular disease that will kill you. A vaccine
can help replace education where there is very little education,
which happens to be the entire planet. You will save more people
by educating them, then you will by injecting them, especially
if the injection is mostly propaganda. Education is the only
proven vaccination for
ignorance, which kills more people then all diseases
combined.
BK101 is the silver bullet, the magic bullet, the magic wand, the
antidote.
Silver Bullet is a simple and
seemingly magical solution to a complicated problem.
Bullet made of Silver is used in fiction as a supposedly magical
method for killing werewolves.
Magic Bullet is something that cures or remedies without causing
harmful side effects.
Waving a Magic Wand
is to provide the perfect solution to a given problem or difficulty, as if
by magic.
Antidote is a substance that can
counteract a form of poisoning.
Isolation (Number Needed to Isolate)
-
Social Distancing -
Pandemic
Asymptomatic Carrier is a person or other organism that has contracted
an infectious disease, but who
displays no symptoms. Although unaffected
by the disease themselves, carriers
can transmit it to others.
Basic Reproduction Number the expected number of cases directly
generated by one case in a population where all individuals are
susceptible to infection. The definition describes the state where no
other individuals are infected or immunized (naturally or through
vaccination). The most important uses of R0 are determining if an emerging
infectious disease can spread in a population and determining what
proportion of the population should be immunized through vaccination to
eradicate a disease. The basic reproduction number is affected by several
factors including the duration of infectivity of affected patients, the
infectiousness of the organism, and the number of susceptible people in
the population that the affected patients are in contact with.
Infection Rate is the probability or
risk of an infection in a population. It is used to measure the
frequency of occurrence of new instances of infection within a population
during a specific time period.
Case Fatality Rate is the proportion of deaths from a certain disease
compared to the total number of people diagnosed with the disease for a
certain period of time. A CFR is conventionally expressed as a percentage
and represents a measure of disease severity. CFRs are most often used for
diseases with discrete, limited time courses, such as
outbreaks of acute infections. A CFR can only be considered final when
all the cases have been resolved (either died or recovered). The
preliminary CFR, for example, during the course of an outbreak with a high
daily increase and long resolution time would be substantially lower than
the final CFR.
Risk - Potential Side Effects
Vaccines are not Risk Free. But if you don't know the
risks, then how can you
decide? How do you minimize
risk without increasing risk for yourself or
for others.
Risk Benefit Ratio
-
Side Effects -
Interactions
Viral Contaminated Vaccines. Vaccines produced using infected cell
cultures could lead to seroconversion.
Vaccine Contaminants.
Premature Launch
of Dengue Fever Vaccine Dengvaxia has Deadly Repercussions. Out of
1 million kids in the Philippines, the vaccine would cause about 1,000 to
be hospitalized over five years, but on the other hand, the vaccine would
prevent about 12,000 hospitalizations for a new dengue infection in
children who have had a prior dengue infection during this same time
period.
That's not an acceptable risk. A
risk needs to be exceedingly small to be tolerated. For example, with the
measles vaccine, the risk of encephalitis is about 1 in 1 million, or
1,000 times less than the risk from a measles infection, the vaccine is
safe only for children who have had a prior dengue infection. In some
instances children were given the vaccine by untrained health workers and
allegedly without a proper physical beforehand. Some children allegedly
had preexisting medical conditions that made the immunization dangerous.
But these children were still inoculated, officials were also indicted for
not properly helping children who had serious reactions to the shot. the
confidence in vaccines among Philippine parents has plummeted from 82% in
2015 to only 21% in 2018.
Pharmacovigilance is defined as the science and activities relating to
the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects
or any other drug-related problem.
The CDC says the benefits from vaccines far outweighs the risks. But
those benefits only happen under the right conditions and only when they
are relevant. So with that kind of thinking you can say that almost
anything in the world can have benefits. But what people really want to
know is why there are risks with taking vaccines? If the risks come from
the
negligence of a
corporation, then the CDC is an
accessory to a crime of
negligence. When people are seeking help, you're not supposed to provide
them with poisons or contaminates, and then on top of that, have the nerve
to say that the vaccine is better than nothing, which is an outright lie.
People are going to be extremely upset when they find out the truth, as
they should be, because this truth is really freaking disturbing to say
the least. It looks like the
great awakening
will not be as pleasurable as it should be.
Public Confidence is Low, trust has been
lost and faith in government is almost nonexistent. But sadly, many people
don't even know that they are being lied to, so as far as those people are
concerned, as long as they keep on believing the lies, they will believe
that the public trust is secure, even when it's not. People are not well
informed, and they don't even know it.
We have to force pharmaceutical companies to do more testing to
see which people are more vulnerable to certain vaccines, and we
also have to force pharmaceutical companies to make safer
vaccines.
The FDA is not
always our Friend.
They are easily
corrupted
with
money and
power, just like a lot of people are.
Vaccine Adverse
Event Reporting System ( VAERS as of September 26, 2021) - More than
726,000 Covid vaccine-related adverse events
reported to VAERS as CDC and FDA overturn advisory committee
recommendations on Pfizer’s third vaccine. VAERS data released by the CDC
included a total of 726,965 adverse event reports from all age groups
following Covid vaccines, including 15,386 deaths and 99,410 serious
complications between December 14, 2020, and September 17, 2021. There
seems to be three situations: The appearance of a cancer rapidly after the
injection (two weeks to a few months) and very progressive, in a person
who was previously free of known carcinological pathologies. The
resumption of cancer in a patient who has been in complete remission for
several months or years. The rapid, even explosive, evolution of a cancer
that is not yet controlled.
Vaccine-induced
temporary immunosuppression is also a factor that may contribute to
the post-vaccination spike in coronavirus infections seen in many
countries. Post-vaccination reactivation of latent viral infections,
including shingles virus, EBV (Epstein-Barr) and hepatitis virus, has also
been observed.
Why do Vaccine Makers have their own Court System?
Vaccine indemnification program in the US paid out thousands of
claims for Billions of dollars.
Vaccine Court refers to the Office of Special Masters of the
U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which administers a no-fault system for
litigating vaccine injury claims. These claims against
vaccine manufacturers cannot normally be filed in state or
Federal Civil Courts, but instead must
be heard in the
Court of Claims, sitting without a jury.
National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP)
National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (wiki)
Vaccine Compensation -
Vaccine Injury - Compensation Reports.
Right to Information -
Research Papers Under
Reported -
Risk Benefit Ratio.
How many vaccines should I get, and when?
Should I get one
vaccine at a time so that we can see which vaccines are the
safest? Are
Vaccinations are more effective when administered in the morning
because of fluctuations in
immune responses
throughout the day?
Vaccination Schedule (wiki)
Which Type of Vaccine is Safer? Oral or Injection?
For the polio vaccine, the injection is safer then the oral
vaccination.
Inhalable form of messenger RNA. Patients with lung disease could find
relief by breathing in messenger RNA molecules.
Should I get a
DNA
Screening to determine if any defects in my genes can be
triggered by a vaccination?
Does a Vaccine Kill Good Bacteria?
Bacteria that naturally colonize the gut may help mount a strong immune
response to a seasonal flu vaccine. Findings also suggest that
antibiotic treatment, which decreases the number and diversity of resident
gut bacteria, may reduce the
immune response to the vaccine. Understanding
how gut bacteria affect
vaccine responses may help scientists develop new
strategies to enhance vaccine-induced immunity.
Films About Vaccines
Of course, most of these films have been
censored. Just like
many
documentaries that have
been removed that are educational. So you will have to search for the film
on the internet.
How
Vaccines Harm Child Brain Development - Dr Russell Blaylock MD
(youtube) Adding insult to injury.
Shots in the Dark (vimeo)
In Lies We Trust
(youtube)
Lethal
Injection: The Story Of Vaccination (youtube)
The
Greater Good is a 2012 feature documentary that looks behind
the fear, hype and politics that have polarized the vaccine
debate in America today.
How We'll Fight the Next Deadly Virus (video and text)
TEDWomen 2015 | May 2015.
Dr. Peter McCullough gave an extensive rundown on everything
Covid-19
vaccines, from safety and efficacy to the fraudulent "approval" of the
Pfizer vaccine.
Vaccine Liberation
Army -
Drug Errors
-
Vaccine Truth.
Early
Development and Toxins -
Autoimmune Disease.
Ask for
Thiomersal
Mercury free Vaccines.
Research.
Human Experimentation
-
Human Test Subjects.
Pharmaceutical Dangers
-
The word Natural
can be Misleading.
Health Documentaries -
Consumer Safety
Human Diploid Cell.
National Vaccine
Information Center -
Dr. Tenpenny.
Correlation does not necessarily prove causation, but you can't use
that as a basis for your argument, especially when you can't prove
correlation to be true or false. And you can't just focus on one
ingredient and say that you done your research.
Cherry Picking Data
just makes look like you're hiding something.
Vaccination - Inoculation - Immunization
Vaccine
is an agent that resembles a disease-causing
micro-organism and
is often made from weakened or killed
forms of the
microbe, its toxins or
one of its surface proteins. The agent stimulates the body's
immune system
to recognize the agent as a threat, destroy it, and keep a record of it,
so that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of
these micro-organisms that it later encounters. A
vaccine works by training the
immune system to recognize and combat
pathogens, either viruses or bacteria. To do this, certain molecules
from the pathogen must be introduced into the body to trigger an immune
response. These molecules are called antigens, and they are present on all
viruses and bacteria. By
injecting these antigens into the body, the
immune system can safely learn to recognize them as hostile invaders,
produce antibodies, and
remember them for the future. If the
bacteria or
virus reappears, the immune system will recognize the
antigens immediately and attack aggressively well before the pathogen can
spread and cause sickness.
Vaccine Types.
Inoculation refers to
artificial induction of immunity against various
infectious
diseases.
Immunization
is the process by which an individual's
immune system becomes fortified against an agent,
which is known as the immunogen, by exposing an animal to an
immunogen in a controlled way,
so that its
body can learn to protect itself. This is called active immunization.
Immunogenic relates to or denoting to
substances that are able to produce an immune response.
Immunogenicity
is the ability of a particular substance, such as an antigen or epitope,
to provoke an immune response in the body of a human and other animal. In
other words, immunogenicity is the ability to induce a humoral and/or
cell-mediated immune responses.
Rapid Deployment Vaccine
Collaborative is the rapid development, testing, and public sharing of
vaccine recipes that are simple enough to be produced and administered by
individual
citizen scientists.
Artificial Induction of Immunity is the artificial induction of
immunity to specific diseases by making people immune to disease by means
other than waiting for them to catch the disease. The purpose is to reduce
the risk of death and suffering.
Immunity in medicine is the balanced state of multicellular organisms
having adequate biological defenses to fight
infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion, while
having adequate tolerance to avoid allergy, and
autoimmune diseases.
Herd Immunity -
Inoculation for IgnoranceNatural
Immunity does not mean 100 percent immunity. You could have
antibodies but still be
vulnerable. Strong immunity can come from a healthy life style and
also from the lack of vulnerabilities in your immune system. Vaccines may
keep you safe, but not as safe as a healthy lifestyle. I stopped getting
flu vaccines and I never got the flu. But there are
people who did get the flu vaccine and never got the flu. So what was it,
the vaccine or a healthy lifestyle?
Can you
still Transmit or Spread Covid-19 after being Vaccinated? The
vaccine will protect you from getting ill and then ending up hospitalized.
But it's possible that you could still carry the virus and
still be contagious to others. So those who get
the vaccine
should still wear masks and
should continue practicing physical
distancing. It’s also not yet known whether the Pfizer and Moderna
vaccines protect people from infection entirely, or just from the
symptoms. That means vaccinated people might still be able to get infected
and pass the virus on, although it would likely be at a much lower rate.
Breakthrough Infection is a case of illness in which a
vaccinated individual becomes sick from the
same illness that the vaccine is meant to prevent. Simply, they occur when
vaccines fail to provide immunity against
the pathogen they are designed to target. Causes of breakthrough
infections include improper administration or storage of vaccines,
mutations in viruses and antibody blocking. For these reasons, vaccines
are rarely 100% effective. The
common flu vaccine is estimated to provide
immunity to the flu in 58% of recipients. The measles vaccine fails to
provide immunity to 2% of children that receive the vaccine. However, if
herd immunity exists, it typically prevents individuals who are
ineffectively vaccinated from contracting the disease. Accordingly, herd
immunity reduces the number of breakthrough infections in a population.
The varicella vaccine is 85% effective at preventing varicella infection.
However, 75% of individuals that are diagnosed with breakthrough varicella
exhibit milder symptoms than individuals that are not vaccinated.
Variants -
Strains -
Mutations.
Antibody-Dependent Enhancement is a phenomenon in which
the presence of specific antibodies can be
beneficial to the virus and the binding of a virus to suboptimal
antibodies enhances its entry into host cells, followed by its
replication. Antiviral antibodies promote viral infection of target immune
cells by exploiting the phagocytic FcγR or complement pathway. After
interaction with the virus the antibody binds Fc receptors (FcR) expressed
on certain immune cells or some of the complement proteins. FcγR binds
antibody via its fragment crystallizable region (Fc). Usually the process
of phagocytosis is accompanied by the virus degradation, however, if the
virus is not neutralized (either due to low affinity binding or targeting
to a non-neutralizing epitope), antibody binding might result in a virus
escape and therefore, enhanced infection. Thus, phagocytosis can cause
viral replication, with the subsequent death of immune cells. The virus
“deceives” the process of phagocytosis of immune cells and uses the host's
antibodies as a Trojan horse. ADE may occur due to the non-neutralizing
characteristic of the antibody, which bind viral epitopes other than those
involved in a host cell attachment and entry. ADE may also happen due to
the presence of sub-neutralizing concentrations of antibodies (binding to
viral epitopes below the threshold for neutralization). In addition ADE
can be induced when the strength of antibody-antigen interaction is below
the certain threshold. This phenomenon might lead to both increased virus
infectivity and virulence. The viruses that can cause ADE frequently share
some common features such as antigenic diversity, abilities to replicate
and establish persistence in immune cells. ADE can occur during the
development of a primary or secondary viral infection, as well as after
vaccination with a subsequent virus challenge. It has been observed mainly
with positive-strand RNA viruses. Among them are Flaviviruses such as
Dengue virus, Yellow fever virus, Zika virus, Coronaviruses, including
alpha- and betacoronaviruses, Orthomyxoviruses such as influenza,
Retroviruses such as HIV, and Orthopneumoviruses such as RSV. The
mechanism that involves phagocytosis of immune complexes via FcγRII / CD32
receptor is better understood compared to the complement receptor pathway.
Cells that express this receptor are represented by monocytes,
macrophages, some categories of dendritic cells and B-cells. ADE is mainly
mediated by IgG antibodies, however, IgM along with complement, and IgA
antibodies have also been shown to be trigger ADE. ADE may cause enhanced
respiratory disease and acute lung injury after respiratory virus
infection (ERD) with symptoms of monocytic infiltration and an excess of
eosinophils in respiratory tract. ADE along with type 2 T helper
cell-dependent mechanisms may contribute to a development of the vaccine
associated disease enhancement (VADE), which is not limited to respiratory
disease. Some vaccine candidates that targeted coronaviruses, RSV virus
and Dengue virus elicited VADE, and were terminated from further
development or became approved for use only for patients who have had
those viruses before. ADE is sometimes less precisely called immune
enhancement or disease enhancement.
COVID-19 Vaccine Information -
COVID-19 Vaccine Information -
COVID-19 Vaccine ProvidersWill a
COVID-19 vaccine alter my DNA? No. The mRNA from a COVID-19 vaccine
never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way.
Messenger RNA vaccines—also called mRNA vaccines—are the first COVID-19
vaccines authorized for use in the United States. mRNA vaccines teach our
cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response. The mRNA
from a COVID-19 vaccine never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is
where our DNA is kept. This means the mRNA cannot affect or interact with
our DNA in any way. Instead, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines work with the body’s
natural defenses to safely develop immunity to disease. At the end of the
process, our bodies have learned how to protect against future infection.
That
immune response and making
antibodies is what protects us from
getting
infected if the real virus enters our
bodies.
Cell Death.
Are COVID-19 tests compiling people’s DNA?
Only if someone wanted to. The coronavirus has RNA. If you get infected
with the coronavirus, the coronavirus injects its RNA into your cells and
forces them to make copies of the virus. The new copies burst out of the
cell spread the virus to other cells in your body to make more copies.
With the covid-19 test, the human DNA in the saliva is not analyzed and
the sample is not kept longer than necessary for testing for the
coronavirus.
Antigen is a molecule
capable of inducing an
immune response on the part of the host organism,
though sometimes antigens can be part of the host itself. In other words,
an antigen is any substance that causes an immune system to produce
antibodies against it. Each antibody is specifically produced by the
immune system to match an antigen after cells in the immune system come
into contact with it; this allows a precise identification of the antigen
and the initiation of a
tailored response. The antibody is said to "match"
the antigen in the sense that it can bind to it thanks to
adaptations
performed to a region of the antibody; because of this, many different
antibodies can be produced, with specificity to bind many different
antigens while sharing the same basic structure. In most cases, an
antibody can only bind one specific antigen; in some instances, however,
antibodies may bind more than one antigen.
Vaccinations Info
-
Vaccines.gov
-
Number Needed to Treat
Inoculation is not new, it's been around for
hundreds of years. What's new is how we are administering
our medicine today.
What other alternatives do we have that would boost
our
immune system?
Immune T Cells May Offer Lasting Protection Against COVID-19 -
Antigen Recognition by T Cells.
Disease Outbreak Map and Monitoring.
Booster Dose is an extra administration of a vaccine after an earlier
or prime dose. After initial immunization, a booster injection or booster
dose is a re-exposure to the immunizing antigen. It is intended to
increase immunity against that antigen back to protective levels, after
memory against that antigen has declined through time. For example,
tetanus shot boosters are often recommended every 10 years, before which
memory cells specific against tetanus have lost their function or
undergone apoptosis. The need for a booster dose following a primary
vaccination is evaluated in several ways. One way is to measure the level
of antibodies specific against a disease, a few years after the primary
dose is given. Anamnestic response, the rapid production of antibodies
after a stimulus of an antigen, is a typical way to measure the need for a
booster dose of a certain vaccine. If the anamnestic response is high
after receiving a primary vaccine many years ago, there is most likely
little to no need for a booster dose. People can also measure the active B
and T cell activity against that antigen after a certain amount of time
that the primary vaccine was administered, or determine the prevalence of
the disease in vaccinated populations. If a patient receives a booster
dose but already has a high level of antibody, then a reaction called an Arthus reaction could develop, a localized form of Type III
hypersensitivity induced by high levels of IgG antibodies causing
inflammation. The inflammation is often self-resolved over the course
of a few days, but could be avoided altogether by increasing the length of
time between the primary vaccine and the booster dose. It is not yet fully
clear why some vaccines such as hepatitis A and B are effective for life,
and some such as tetanus need boosters. The prevailing theory is that if
the immune system responds to a primary vaccine rapidly, the body does not
have time to sufficiently develop immunological memory against the
disease, and memory cells will not persist in high numbers for the
lifetime of the human. After a primary response of the immune system
against a vaccination, memory T helper cells and B cells persist at a
fairly constant level in germinal centers, undergoing cell division at a
slow to nonexistent rate. While these cells are long-lived, they do not
typically undergo mitosis, and eventually the rate of loss of these cells
will be greater than the rate of gain. In these cases, a booster dose is
required to "boost" the memory B and T cell count back up again.
No Evidence Yet That Recovered COVID-19 Patients Are Immune, WHO Says.
Immunity passports in the context of COVID-19. The development of immunity
to a pathogen through natural infection is a multi-step process that
typically takes place over 1-2 weeks. The body responds to a viral
infection immediately with a non-specific innate response in which
macrophages, neutrophils, and
dendritic cells slow the progress of virus
and may even prevent it from causing symptoms. This non-specific response
is followed by an adaptive response where the body makes
antibodies that specifically bind to the
virus. These antibodies are proteins called
immunoglobulins. The body also makes T-cells that recognize and
eliminate other cells infected with the virus. This is called cellular
immunity. This combined adaptive response may clear the virus from the
body, and if the response is strong enough, may prevent progression to
severe illness or re-infection by the same virus. This process is often
measured by the presence of antibodies in blood. Laboratory tests that
detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in people, including rapid
immunodiagnostic tests, need further validation to determine their
accuracy and reliability. Inaccurate immunodiagnostic tests may falsely
categorize people in two ways. The first is that they may falsely label
people who have been infected as negative, and the second is that people
who have not been infected are falsely labeled as positive. Both errors
have serious consequences and will affect control efforts. These tests
also need to accurately distinguish between past infections from
SARS-CoV-2 and those caused by the known set of six human coronaviruses.
Four of these viruses cause the common cold and circulate widely. The
remaining two are the viruses that cause
Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. People
infected by any one of these viruses may produce antibodies that
cross-react with antibodies produced in response to infection with
SARS-CoV-2. People who assume that they are immune to a second infection
because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health
advice. A person may have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in
their blood, so knowing how long a person may be immune is not clear.
How many children get
Autism who have never received a vaccine in their entire
life? So what if my child
did not get autism from vaccines, but what about a
lower IQ, or
other side effects?
Non-Communicable Disease is a medical condition or disease
that is not caused by infectious agents (non-infectious or
non-transmissible).
Causes of Death -
Poverty.
Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (wiki)
Vaccine Preventable Diseases Monitoring System.
Health Map.
Russell Blaylock MD.
Vaccines Hurt Babies (youtube channel)
Cytokine -
Colds and Flu -
Immune System
Microglia are a type of
glial cell located throughout
the brain and spinal cord. Microglia account for 10–15% of all
cells found within the
brain. As the resident macrophage
cells, they act as the first and main form of active immune defense in the
central nervous system (CNS)
Mitochondrial Antiviral-Signaling Protein (wiki).
Viruses Carry Antiviral Cargo
cGAMP (wiki).
Immunize -
FDA Biologics Blood Vaccines.
When
WHO says routine life-saving immunizations could avert
1.5
million deaths each year from preventable diseases, what they're
not saying is that the 1.5 million deaths each year from
preventable diseases is mostly a result of poor people who have
no access to a good education, or clean water, or healthy food,
or healthy homes. When you lie and
mislead people, that means you are trying to hide something,
and that's when people stop trusting you. So what will
stop the
murders of millions of people every year? Maybe a shot of the
truth.
Path.
The
number of cases of
Polio worldwide in 2018 as of Dec. 25 was 29, compared to 22 in 2017.
There were an estimated 350,000 cases around the world in 1988.
Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus is a strain related to the weakened live
poliovirus contained in oral polio vaccine. If allowed to circulate in
under- or unimmunized populations for long enough, or replicate in an
immunodeficient individual, the weakened virus can revert to a form that
causes illness and paralysis.
A
mysterious polio-like disease, called
Acute Flaccid Myelitis that can paralyze patients, mostly children,
appeared in the U.S. in 2014 with 120 confirmed cases from August to
December. There were 22 confirmed cases in 2015, 149 confirmed cases in
2016, 35 confirmed cases is 2017 and 182 cases as of Dec. 21, 2018.
Acute is having or experiencing a rapid
onset and short but severe course. Extremely sharp or intense.
Vaccine Equity: All governments to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are
distributed free and equally at the point of care and without risk of
financial hardship and without unfair illogical discrimination, starting
with health workers and those people at greatest risk of COVID-19, to
prioritize affected communities and the voices of essential workers in
decision-making and ensure gender equality is central to all actions.
Unequal distribution of vaccines still remains the biggest threat to
ending the acute stage of this pandemic and driving a global recovery. We
must continue to push for vaccines to be both equitably distributed and
equitably produced throughout 2021 and beyond. Vaccine distribution
remains nonexistent in many of the poorest countries, and experts
anticipate that 80% of the population in low-resource settings will not
receive a vaccine this year. Although investment in discovery is critical,
the long-term neglect of public health and global delivery strategies has
left us poorly equipped to end this pandemic. The world is on the brink of
a catastrophic moral failure – and the price of this failure will be paid
with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries.
#VaccinEquity, which aims to overcome the pandemic and the
inequalities that lie at the root of so many global health challenges, as
well as drive a global recovery. Global Citizen said its campaign had
raised $302 million and secured over 26 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.
The money will go toward vaccine delivery, testing and personal protective
equipment, as part of the
COVAX initiative. The effort, led by the World Health Organization,
Gavi and other partners, aims to evenly distribute vaccines and supplies
around the world.
Vaccine Types
Inactivated Vaccines use the
killed version of the germ that causes
a disease. Inactivated
vaccines usually don't provide immunity
(protection) that's as strong as live vaccines. So you may need several
doses over time (booster shots) in order to get ongoing immunity against
diseases.
Inactivated Vaccine is a vaccine consisting of virus particles,
bacteria, or other pathogens that have been grown in culture and then
killed to destroy disease producing capacity. In contrast, live vaccines
use pathogens that are still alive (but are almost always attenuated, that
is, weakened). Pathogens for inactivated vaccines are grown under
controlled conditions and are killed as a means to reduce infectivity and
thus prevent infection from the vaccine. The virus is killed using a
method such as heat or formaldehyde. Inactivated vaccines are further
classified depending on the method used to inactivate the virus. Whole
virus vaccines use the entire virus particle, fully destroyed using heat,
chemicals, or radiation. Split virus vaccines are produced by using a
detergent to disrupt the virus. Subunit vaccines are produced by purifying
out the antigens that best stimulate the immune system to mount a response
to the virus, while removing other components necessary for the virus to
replicate or survive or that can cause adverse reactions. Because
inactivated viruses tend to produce a weaker response by the immune system
than live viruses, immunologic adjuvants and multiple "booster" injections
may be required to provide an effective immune response against the
pathogen. Attenuated vaccines are often preferable for generally healthy
people because a single dose is often safe and very effective. However,
some people cannot take attenuated vaccines because the pathogen poses too
much risk for them (for example, elderly people or people with
immunodeficiency). For those patients, an inactivated vaccine can provide
protection.
Attenuated Vaccines or
Live Vaccines use a weakened or attenuated
form of the germ that causes a disease. Because these vaccines are so
similar to the natural infection that they help prevent, they create a
strong and long-lasting immune response.
Attenuated
Vaccine is a vaccine created by reducing the virulence of a pathogen,
but still keeping it viable (or "live"). Attenuation takes an infectious
agent and alters it so that it becomes harmless or less virulent. These
vaccines contrast to those produced by "killing" the virus (inactivated
vaccine). Attenuated vaccines stimulate a strong and effective immune
response that is long-lasting. In comparison to inactivated vaccines,
attenuated vaccines produce a stronger and more durable immune response
with a quick immunity onset. Attenuated vaccines function by encouraging
the body to create antibodies and memory immune cells in response to the
specific pathogen which the vaccine protects against. Common examples of
live attenuated vaccines are measles, mumps, rubella, yellow fever, and
some influenza vaccines.
Attenuated
Vaccine is a vaccine created by reducing the virulence of a
pathogen,
but still keeping it viable (or "
live"). Attenuation takes an infectious
agent and alters it so that it becomes harmless or less virulent. These
vaccines contrast to those produced by "killing" the virus (inactivated
vaccine).
Live Vaccines (wiki) -
Living Drug -
How Live Vaccines enhance the body's immune response. New findings
point the way to more efficient vaccines.
Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine is a type of influenza vaccine in
the form of a nasal spray that used to be recommended to prevent
influenza. In June 2016 the CDC stopped recommending the use of LAIV as
its effectiveness has appeared to have decreased between 2013 and 2016. -
Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine FluMist (wiki)
Messenger RNA vaccines or
mRNA vaccines make proteins in order
to trigger an immune response. They do not contain a live virus, no risk
of causing disease in the person getting vaccinated. less effective.
RNA Vaccine is a
type of vaccine that uses a copy of a natural chemical called messenger
RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine transfects molecules
of synthetic RNA into immunity cells. Once inside the immune cells, the
vaccine's RNA functions as mRNA, causing the cells to build the foreign
protein that would normally be produced by a pathogen (such as a virus) or
by a cancer cell. These protein molecules stimulate an adaptive immune
response which teaches the body how to identify and destroy the
corresponding pathogen or cancer cells. The delivery of mRNA is achieved
by a co-formulation of the molecule into lipid nanoparticles which protect
the RNA strands and helps their absorption into the cells.
Genetic Vaccine or DNA and RNA-based vaccines. DNA vaccines were
introduced less than a decade ago but have already been applied to a wide
range of infectious and malignant diseases.
Katalin Karikó.
Subunit Vaccine
is a vaccine that presents one or more antigens to the immune system
without introducing pathogen particles, whole or otherwise. The antigens
involved can be any molecule, and do not need to be a protein subunit; the
word "subunit" simply means the antigen is a fragment of the pathogen.
Just like inactivated vaccines, the vaccine is completely "dead", and is
therefore less risky.
Subunit, recombinant,
polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines use specific pieces of the
germ—like its protein, sugar, or capsid (a casing around the germ).
Because these vaccines use only specific pieces of the germ, they give a
very strong immune response that’s targeted to key parts of the germ.
Viral Vector Vaccines use a modified
version of a different virus as a vector to deliver protection.
Viral Vector are
tools commonly used by molecular biologists to deliver genetic material
into cells. This process can be performed inside a living organism (in
vivo) or in cell culture (in vitro). Viruses have evolved specialized
molecular mechanisms to efficiently transport their genomes inside the
cells they infect. Delivery of genes or other genetic material by a vector
is termed transduction and the infected cells are described as transduced.
Molecular biologists first harnessed this machinery in the 1970s. Paul
Berg used a modified SV40 virus containing DNA from the bacteriophage λ to
infect monkey kidney cells maintained in culture. In addition to their use
in molecular biology research, viral vectors are used for gene therapy and
the development of vaccines.
Toxoid
Vaccines are made from a toxin or poison that has been made
harmless but that elicits an immune response against the toxin. Toxoid use
a toxin or harmful product made by the germ that causes a disease. They
create immunity to the parts of the germ that cause a disease instead of
the germ itself. That means the immune response is targeted to the toxin
instead of the whole germ.
Toxoid is an inactivated toxin (usually an exotoxin) whose toxicity
has been suppressed either by chemical (formalin) or heat treatment, while
other properties, typically immunogenicity, are maintained. Toxins are
secreted by bacteria, whereas toxoids are altered form of toxins; toxoids
are not secreted by bacteria. Thus, when used during vaccination, an
immune response is mounted and immunological memory is formed against the
molecular markers of the toxoid without resulting in toxin-induced
illness. Such a preparation is also known as an anatoxin. There are
toxoids for prevention of diphtheria, tetanus and botulism. Toxoids are
used as vaccines because they induce an immune response to the original
toxin or increase the response to another antigen since the toxoid markers
and toxin markers are preserved. For example, the tetanus toxoid is
derived from the tetanospasmin produced by Clostridium tetani. The latter
causes tetanus and is vaccinated against by the DTaP vaccine. While
patients may sometimes complain of side effects after a vaccine, these are
associated with the process of mounting an immune response and clearing
the toxoid, not the direct effects of the toxoid. The toxoid does not have
virulence as the toxin did before inactivation. Toxoids are also useful in
the production of human antitoxins. Multiple doses of tetanus toxoid are
used by many plasma centers in the United States for the development of
highly immune persons for the production of human anti-tetanus immune
globulin (tetanus immune globulin (TIG), HyperTet (c)), which has replaced
horse serum-type tetanus antitoxin in most of the developed world. Toxoids
are also used in the production of conjugate vaccines. The highly
antigenic toxoids help draw attention to weaker antigens such as
polysaccharides found in the bacterial capsule.
Microneedle Patch. Your skin is a pretty good place to deliver a
vaccine. It's full of immune cells. The outermost part of the skin called
the stratum corneum consists of a layer of cells thinner than a sheet of
paper. Tiny needles are now frequently made out of water-soluble
materials, so once they get into your skin, they dissolve, releasing
whatever you've packed inside of them. Thr patch could deliver multiple
vaccine doses spaced days or weeks apart with a single application. The
trick is to imbed the vaccine in needles that dissolve at different rates.
The patient wouldn't need to remember the schedule of the vaccination.
Vaccine Patch.
Vaccine printer could help vaccines reach more people. The printer
generates vaccine-filled microneedle patches that can be stored long-term
at room temperature and applied to the skin.
Transdermal Patch is a medicated adhesive patch that is placed on the
skin to deliver a specific dose of medication through the skin and into
the bloodstream. Often, this promotes healing to an injured area of the
body. An advantage of a transdermal drug delivery route over other types
of medication delivery such as oral, topical, intravenous, intramuscular,
etc. is that the patch provides a controlled release of the medication
into the patient, usually through either a porous membrane covering a
reservoir of medication or through body heat melting thin layers of
medication embedded in the adhesive. The main disadvantage to transdermal
delivery systems stems from the fact that the skin is a very effective
barrier; as a result, only medications whose molecules are small enough to
penetrate the skin can be delivered by this method. A wide variety of
pharmaceuticals are now available in transdermal patch form. The first
commercially available prescription patch was approved by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration in December 1979. These patches administered
scopolamine for motion sickness.
Needle free injection technology -
Laser powered liquid jets could inject drugs into skin without needles.
Dry
Powder Nasal Vaccines as an alternative to needle-based delivery. Dry
powder vaccines offer the advantages of chemical and physical stability in
comparison to liquid formulations. An intranasal vaccine can elicit both a
local and systemic immune response. Mucoadhesive compounds can extend the
residence time for powder formulations on the nasal mucosa,
potentially increasing the immune response. Manufacture and
characterization of a formulation containing particles of a dry powder
vaccine are discussed.
New nasal spray treats Delta variant infection in mice, indicating
broad spectrum results. The specially designed compound, named N-0385,
blocks a particular human enzyme's activity, used by the virus to infect a
host cell.
Center
for Drug Design, Development and Delivery.
HYDRA Device converts electricity passing through a
piezoelectric chip into mechanical vibration, or sound waves,
which in turn break liquid into a spray, so that vaccines can be
inhaled through a nebulizer device.
Vaccines made from Plants. Plant-Based Vaccines or Plant-Derived
Vaccines. Quebec-based Medicago is transforming the use of plant-based
technologies to rapidly develop and produce novel vaccines and therapeutic
proteins. Plants are among the world’s most prolific protein producers; in
contrast to protein production via cell cultures or eggs, which is
relatively complicated and time-consuming, plants express proteins of
varying complexity and glycosylation patterns with high efficiency. So
Medicago, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company located in Quebec,
Canada, is harnessing a plant-based transient expression process to
produce pharmaceutical-grade proteins in a matter of weeks. Compared to
alternative production systems, our proprietary plant-based manufacturing
platform has many advantages, including faster lead time, scalability and
versatility. Medicago’s production process starts with the synthesis of
genetic sequence coding for a particular protein. This sequence is then
introduced into Agrobacterium tumefaciens , a bacterial vector that can
transfer genetic material to plants only. The plant in question, Nicotiana
benthamiana , is a close relative of tobacco indigenous to Australia, has
a fast growth rate, is a non-food crop, and is easy to work with. It is
dipped into a bath of the modified Agrobacterium , which, with the
assistance of a vacuum, is soaked up by the plant. The Agrobacterium
transfers the genetic material into the leaf tissue, which then produces
and accumulates the recombinant product for 6–8 days. At this point, the
leaves are harvested and the proteins are extracted and purified under
pharma-grade conditions.
COVID vaccine grown in
plants, No ultracold freezers required. The vaccine look-alike is
something called a "virus-like particle" produced in plant cells that were
given genetic instructions to make the coronavirus spike protein. Vaccines
work by showing the immune system something that looks like a virus, but
isn't. Doing that allows the immune system to prepare itself in case the
real virus should show up.
Plant-based vaccines for animals and humans: recent advances in
technology and clinical trials.
Plant-based vaccines: novel and low-cost possible route for
Mediterranean innovative vaccination strategies
Immune system-stimulating nanoparticle could lead to more powerful
vaccines. Researchers designed a new
nanoparticle adjuvant that may be
more potent than others now in use. Studies in mice showed it
significantly improved antibody production following vaccination against
HIV, diphtheria and influenza. Although the idea of using adjuvants to
boost vaccine effectiveness has been around for decades, there are only a
handful of FDA-approved vaccine adjuvants. One is
aluminum hydroxide, an aluminum salt that induces inflammation, and
another is an oil and water emulsion that is used in flu vaccines. A few
years ago, the FDA approved an adjuvant based on
saponin,
a compound derived from the bark of the Chilean soapbark tree. Saponin
formulated in liposomes is now used as an adjuvant in the shingles
vaccine, and saponins are also being used in a cage-like nanoparticle
called an immunostimulatory complex (ISCOM) in a Covid-19 vaccine that is
currently in clinical trials. Researchers have shown that saponins promote
inflammatory immune responses and stimulate antibody production, but how
they do that is unclear. In the new study, the MIT and La Jolla team
wanted to figure out how the adjuvant exerts its effects, and to see if
they could make it more potent. They designed a new type of adjuvant that
is similar to the ISCOM adjuvant but also incorporates a molecule called
MPLA, which is a toll-like receptor agonist. When these molecules bind to
toll-like receptors on immune cells, they promote inflammation. The
researchers call their new adjuvant SMNP (saponin/MPLA nanoparticles).
The medicine of the future could be artificial life forms. Imagine a
life form that doesn't resemble any of the organisms found on the tree of
life. One that has its own unique control system, and that a doctor would
want to send into your body.
Hybrid peptide-DNA
nanostructures is the parent of a special artificial hybrid
molecule that could lead to the creation of artificial life forms. Such
artificial life forms can act as vaccines against viral infection and can
be used as
nanorobots or
nano-machines loaded with
medication or diagnostic elements and sent into a patient's body.
Self-Assembly of Hybrid Peptide-DNA Nanostructures using Homotrimeric
Coiled-Coil/Nucleic Acid Building Blocks. Peptides and DNA are two of the
most commonly used self-assembling biological molecules for the
construction of nanomaterials.
Vaccines for Covid-19 by Manufacturer
Pfizer - BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. Requires
2
shots, 21 days apart FDA has authorized the emergency use of the
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in individuals 16 years of age and older.
The Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a
messenger RNA
or
mRNA vaccine that has both synthetic, or chemically produced, and enzymatically
produced components from naturally occurring substances such as proteins.
The vaccine
does not contain any live virus.
Its inactive ingredients include potassium chloride, monobasic
potassium, phosphate, sodium chloride, dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate,
and sucrose, as well as small amounts of other ingredients. The Pfizer-BioNTech
COVID-19 Vaccine includes the following ingredients: mRNA, lipids
((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 2
[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide,
1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and cholesterol), potassium
chloride, monobasic potassium phosphate, sodium chloride, dibasic sodium
phosphate dihydrate, and sucrose.
The approval status of the Pfizer‑BioNTech COVID‑19 Vaccine varies
worldwide. In countries where the vaccine has not been approved by the
relevant regulatory authority, it is an investigational drug, and its
safety and efficacy have not been established.
Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. Name:
mRNA-1273. 2 shots, one month (28 days) apart. Contains the following
ingredients: messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), lipids ( SM-102,
polyethylene glyc ol [ P EG] 2000 dimyristoyl glycerol [DMG], cholesterol,
and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine [DSP C]), tromethamine,
tromethamine hydrochloride, acetic acid, sodium acetate, and sucrose.
Clinical trials for the Moderna vaccine included people from the following
racial and ethnic categories: 79.4% White,
20% Hispanic/Latino, 9.7% African American, 4.7% Asian, <3% other
races/ethnicities.
Age and sex breakdown:
52.6% male, 47.4% female, 25.3% 65 years and older. Most people who
participated in the trials (82%) were considered to have an occupational
risk of exposure, with 25.4% of them being healthcare workers. Among
people who participated in the clinical trials, 22.3% had at least one
high-risk condition, which included lung disease, heart disease, obesity,
diabetes, liver disease, or HIV infection. Four percent (4%) of
participants had two or more high-risk conditions.
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine. Name: JNJ-78436735. Type
of vaccine: Viral vector. 1 shot. Includes the following ingredients:
recombinant, replication-incompetentadenovirus type 26expressing the
SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, citric acid monohydrate, trisodium citrate
dihydrate, ethanol, 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HBCD), polysorbate-80,
sodium chloride.
V-safe
is a new voluntary smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web
surveys to check in with people who have been vaccinated to identify
potential side effects after COVID-19 vaccination. V-safeasks questions
that help CDC monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. V-safealso provides
live telephone follow-up by CDC if participants report a significant
health impact following COVID-19 vaccination.
Side
effects were more common in people 18–59 years old compared to
people 60 years and older. Clinical trials for the J&J/Janssen vaccine
included people from the following
racial and
ethnic categories: 58.7% White, 45.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4%
Black or African American, 9.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, 5.6%
Multiple races, 3.3% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific
Islander.
Sex breakdown: 54.9% Male, 45.0%
Female, <0.1% Undifferentiated or unknown sex.
Age
breakdown: 66.5% 18–59 years, 33.5% 60 years and older, 19.6% 65
years and older, 3.5% 75 years and older.
Estimates of
Vaccine Efficacy from Phase 3 Clinical Trials (image).
AstraZeneca - Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) vaccine is
given as a two-dose course, which is given as an injection into the upper
arm. The second dose is given 4-12 weeks after the first dose. AZD1222 US
Phase III trial met primary efficacy endpoint in preventing COVID-19 at
interim analysis. 79% vaccine efficacy at preventing symptomatic COVID-19.
100% efficacy against severe or critical disease and hospitalization.
Comparable efficacy result across ethnicity and age, with 80% efficacy in
participants aged 65 years and over. For full information on ingredients,
ask for the Patient Information Leaflet for the vaccine you are offered.
Favourable reactogenicity and overall safety profile. The active
ingredient of the Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine is made from
a modified adenovirus which causes the common cold in chimpanzees. This
virus has been modified so that it cannot cause an infection. It is used
to deliver the genetic code for the coronavirus spike protein. The vaccine
also contains inactive ingredients such as polysorbate 80, an emulsifier,
and a very small amount of alcohol (0.002mg per dose). The vaccine also
contains traces of magnesium (3 to 20 parts per million). Sucrose (sugar).
Acidity regulators such as Histidine, and sodium and potassium salts.
Nucleic acid and viral vectored vaccines
explained. Newer vaccines such as mRNA vaccines and viral vectored
vaccines, including the Oxford ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine differ from many
traditional vaccines in the way they activate the immune system. Most
traditional vaccines inject the antigen (part of the disease that
stimulates an immune response) directly into the body. Firstly, we will
look at how cells normally manufacture proteins. Our DNA (DeoxyRibonucleic
Acid) is safely packaged inside the nucleus of a cell and cannot leave.
Within this DNA are gene sequences, and each gene encodes the blueprints
for making one of the proteins the body needs. To make a protein the first
step is to transcribe DNA into mRNA (messenger Ribonucleic Acid) using a
special enzyme (or “tool”) called RNA polymerase. This step is a one-way
process as cells are unable to transcribe RNA back into DNA. Unlike
DNA, mRNA is free to leave the nucleus as it has a pass that allows it to
exit. However, this pass is one way and once it leaves, the mRNA cannot
return. Once it has left the nucleus the mRNA links up with the special
cellular machinery in the cytoplasm. This machinery uses the information
coded in the mRNA to make new proteins. As with the process of going from
DNA to mRNA this process is also one-way, and it’s not possible to go
backwards from protein to mRNA. These proteins may be used inside the cell
or transported out of the cell for use elsewhere in the body. The COVID-19
mRNA vaccines take advantage of this internal process to make copies of
the spike protein, which usually appears on the surface of the
coronavirus. There are two types of vaccine which use this process: mRNA
vaccines. In this type of vaccine, mRNA is delivered to the cell inside a
lipid membrane. Once the mRNA is inside the cell, the same machinery that
is used to make our own proteins can make the spike protein. This mRNA has
no way of getting into the nucleus where our DNA is. Even if it could,
mRNA cannot fuse with DNA and as with our own mRNA, has no way of getting
translated back to DNA. As such, there is no way for human DNA to be
altered by an mRNA vaccine. This mRNA lasts a few days before the cell
removes it, but in that time we have produced a lot of spike protein to
stimulate the immune response. Viral vectored vaccines. Viral vectored
vaccines work in a different way. The genetic information inside a viral
vectored vaccine like ChAdOx1 is DNA rather than RNA. This DNA is a short
linear piece of double stranded DNA which contains the viral genes along
with the gene for the spike protein. The viral vector first infects the
cell and then delivers this DNA to the cell nucleus. The cell can then
transcribes the viral genes (DNA) into mRNA using the same RNA polymerase
it uses for our own genes. After transcription, the mRNA gets tagged so it
can leave the nucleus and be made into spike protein by the cell
machinery. In the Oxford vaccine, the viral gene that is required to
replicate viral DNA has been removed. As viruses use a different process
to human cells to replicate their DNA, the cell itself cannot replicate
viral DNA either. This means the viral vector cannot replicate (make more
viruses) or cause disease. Both the original viral DNA and the spike
protein mRNA only last a few days before the cell removes them. Such
design features alongside a cell’s natural DNA protection measures,
prevents any possibility of viral DNA integrating with human DNA.
AZD1222 is produced in genetically modified human embryonic kidney
(HEK) 293 cellsand by recombinant DNA technology. List of excipients: L-Histidine,
L-Histidine hydrochloride monohydrate, magnesium chloride hexahydrate,
polysorbate 80, ethanol, sucrose, sodium chloride, disodium edetate
dihydrate, and water for injections.
Injections
Injection in medicine is the act of putting a liquid, especially a
drug, into a person's body using a needle (usually a
hypodermic needle) and a
syringe.
Injection is a technique for delivering drugs by
parenteral administration, that is, administration via a route other
than through the
digestive tract.
Parenteral injection includes subcutaneous, intramuscular,
intravenous,
intraperitoneal, intracardiac, intraarticular and intracavernous
injection. Injection is generally administered as a
bolus, but can possibly be used for continuous drug administration as
well. Even when administered as a bolus, the medication may be
long-acting, and can then be called
depot injection. Administration by an indwelling catheter is generally
preferred instead of injection in case of more long-term or recurrent drug
administration. Injections are among the most common health care
procedures, with at least
16 billion administered
in developing and transitional countries each year. 95% of
injections are administered in curative care, 3% are for immunization, and
the rest for other purposes, such as
blood transfusions. In
some instances the term injection is used synonymously with inoculation
even by different workers in the same hospital. This should not cause
confusion; the focus is on what is being injected/inoculated, not the
terminology of the procedure. Since the process inherently involves a
small puncture wound to the body (with varying
degrees of pain depending
on injection type and location, medication type, needle gauge and the
skill of the individual administering the injection), fear of needles is a
common phobia.
Disease
Disease
is a particular
abnormal condition, a disorder of a structure or function,
that
affects part or all of an organism. The study of disease is called
pathology which includes the causal study of
etiology,
which is the study of
causation,
or origination. Disease is often
construed as a medical condition associated with specific
symptoms and
signs. It may be caused by
external factors such as
pathogens, or it
may be caused by internal dysfunctions particularly of the
immune system
such as an
immunodeficiency, or a hypersensitivity including allergies and
autoimmunity.
Non-Communicable Disease is a disease that is not transmissible
directly from one person to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease,
autoimmune diseases, strokes, most heart diseases, most cancers, diabetes,
chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease,
cataracts, and others. NCDs may be chronic or acute. Most are
non-infectious, although there are some non-communicable infectious
diseases, such as
parasitic diseases
in which the parasite's life cycle does not include direct host-to-host
transmission. NCDs are the
leading cause of death globally. In 2012, they caused 68% of all
deaths (
38 million) up from 60% in 2000.
About half were under age 70 and half were women. Risk factors such as a
person's background, lifestyle and environment increase the likelihood of
certain NCDs. Every year, at least 5 million people die because of tobacco
use and about 2.8 million die from being overweight. High cholesterol
accounts for roughly 2.6 million deaths and 7.5 million die because of
high blood pressure.
Healing.
The deadliest disease
is propaganda, which is extremely
infectious,
especially for
ignorant and
gullible people.
Progressive Disease is a disease or
physical
ailment whose course in most cases is the worsening, growth, or
spread of the disease. This may happen until death, serious debility, or
organ failure occurs. Some progressive diseases can be halted and reversed
by treatment. Many can be slowed by medical
therapy. Some cannot
be altered by current treatments.
Illness
is a disease or period of
sickness affecting the body or
mind. Impairment
of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism.
Body affects the Mind.
Sick is a feeling of nausea or a
feeling that you get when you're about to vomit.
Sickness
is affected by an
impairment of normal physical or mental function.
Food Poison.
Nausea is a feeling of illness or
discomfort in the digestive system, usually characterized by a strong urge
to vomit.
Vomiting
is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach
through the mouth and sometimes the nose.
Terminal Illness is an incurable disease that cannot be adequately
treated and is
reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is
more commonly used for progressive diseases such as
cancer or advanced heart disease than for trauma. Terminal illness or
end-stage disease is an incurable disease that cannot be adequately
treated and is reasonably expected to result in the death of the
patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as
cancer or advanced heart disease than for trauma.
Chronic Condition is a human health condition or disease that is
persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that
comes with time. The term chronic is often applied when the course of the
disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include
arthritis, asthma, cancer, COPD, diabetes and some viral diseases such as
hepatitis C and
HIV/AIDS. An illness which is lifelong because it ends in
death is a terminal illness.
Chronic Disease.
Chronic Medicine is a human health
condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its
effects or a disease that comes with time.
Rare
Disease is any
disease that affects a small percentage of the population. In some
parts of the world, an orphan disease is a rare disease whose rarity means
there is a lack of a market large enough to gain support and resources for
discovering treatments for it, except by the government granting
economically advantageous conditions to creating and selling such
treatments. Orphan drugs are ones so created or sold. Most rare diseases
are genetic and thus are present throughout the person's entire life, even
if symptoms do not immediately appear. Many rare diseases appear early in
life, and about 30% of children with rare diseases will die before
reaching their fifth birthday. With only three diagnosed patients in 27
years, ribose-5-phosphate isomerase deficiency is considered the rarest
known genetic disease. No single cut-off number has been agreed upon for
which a disease is considered rare. A disease may be considered rare in
one part of the world, or in a particular group of people, but still be
common in another. The US organisation Global Genes has estimated that
more than 300 million people worldwide are living with one of the
approximately 7,000 diseases they define as "rare" in the United States.
Idiopathic Disease is any disease with an
unknown cause or mechanism
of apparent spontaneous origin.
Rare Disease.
Pathogen is anything that can produce disease.
Infectious agent such
as a
virus,
bacterium, prion, a fungus, or even
another micro-organism.
Model sheds new light on pathogen cooperation.
Pathogenic is a bacterium, virus, or other
microorganism causing disease.
Pathogenesis of a disease is the biological mechanism or mechanisms
that leads to the diseased state.
Asymptomatic is a patient who is a
carrier for a disease or
infection but experiences no
symptoms.
Communicable -
Contagious -
Transmissible
-
Host
Institute for Health
Metrics and Evaluation is an independent population
Health Research
center at UW Medicine provides rigorous and comparable measurement of
the world's most important health problems and evaluates the strategies
used to address them. IHME makes this information freely available so that
policymakers have the evidence they need to make informed decisions about
how to allocate resources to best improve population health.
Infectious Diseases Emergency Preparedness Plan.
Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E viruses kill 1.34 million people a year.
HIV/AIDS claims 1 million lives a year. Estimates vary for malaria (from
429,000 deaths by WHO's calculations to 719,000 deaths according to the
new report). TB statistics range from 1.2 million in the study to 1.8
million from WHO).
Global Burden of Disease Study is
a comprehensive regional and global research program of
disease burden
that assesses mortality and disability from major diseases, injuries,
and risk factors. GBD is a collaboration of over 1,800 researchers
from 127 countries.
The Lancet general medical journal.
Mosquito-Borne Disease are diseases caused by
bacterial, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. They can
transmit disease without being affected themselves. Diseases transmitted
by
mosquitoes include: malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya,
yellow fever, filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis,
Western equine encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, Venezuelan
equine encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis and Zika fever. Nearly
700 million people get a mosquito borne
illness each year resulting in greater than
one
million deaths.
A secret weapon against Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases: Nina
Fedoroff (video and interactive text). A little British company called
Oxitec genetically modified that mosquito so that when it mates with a
wild female, its eggs don't develop to adulthood.
Zika Virus
(wiki)
Why Malaria Parasites Genus Plasmodium are faster than human immune cells.
Elementary cytoskeleton protein is different in parasites and represents a
starting point for a possible new therapy against
malaria
infections.
Newly described Human Antibody prevents Malaria in mice.
Researchers map malaria parasites proliferating in human blood cells.
Malaria parasites transform healthy red blood cells into rigid versions of
themselves that clump together, hindering the transportation of oxygen.
The infectious disease affects more than 200 million people across the
world and causes nearly half a million deaths every year, according to the
World Health Organization's 2018 report on malaria. Until now, however,
researchers did not have a strong understanding of how the parasite so
effectively infiltrated a system's red blood cells.
Mosquito Net
offers protection against
mosquitos,
flies, and other insects, and thus against the diseases they may carry.
Examples include malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, zika virus and
various forms of encephalitis, including the West Nile virus. To be
effective the mesh of a mosquito net must be fine enough to exclude such
insects without reducing visibility or air flow to unacceptable levels. It
is possible to increase the effectiveness of a mosquito net greatly by
treating it with an appropriate insecticide or mosquito repellant.
Beds.
Molecular Pathology is an emerging
discipline within pathology which is focused in the study and
diagnosis of
disease through the examination of
molecules within organs,
tissues or bodily fluids. Molecular pathology shares some aspects of
practice with both anatomic pathology and clinical pathology, molecular
biology,
biochemistry, proteomics
and genetics, and is sometimes considered a "crossover" discipline. It is
multi-disciplinary in nature and focuses mainly on the sub-microscopic
aspects of disease. A key consideration is that more accurate diagnosis is
possible when the
diagnosis is based on both the morphologic changes in tissues
(traditional anatomic pathology) and on molecular testing.
Eradication of Infectious Diseases
is the reduction of an infectious disease's prevalence in the global host
population to zero.
Measles
Over the past 60 years, the
number of new diseases cropping up in a decade has almost quadrupled.
The number of outbreaks each year has more than tripled since 1980.
Toxins -
Pesticides
Epidemiology is the study and analysis
of the
patterns,
causes and effects of health and disease conditions in
defined populations. It is the cornerstone of public health, and shapes
policy decisions and evidence-based practice by identifying risk factors
for disease and targets for preventive healthcare. Epidemiologists help
with study design, collection, and statistical analysis of data, amend
interpretation and dissemination of results (including peer review and
occasional systematic review). Epidemiology has helped develop methodology
used in clinical research, public health studies, and, to a lesser extent,
basic research in the
biological
sciences.
Pathophysiology is a convergence of pathology with
physiology. Pathology
is the medical discipline that describes conditions typically observed
during a
disease
state, whereas physiology is the biological discipline that describes
processes or mechanisms operating within an organism. Pathology describes
the abnormal or undesired condition, whereas pathophysiology seeks to
explain the physiological processes or mechanisms whereby such condition
develops and progresses. Pathophysiology can also mean the functional
changes associated with or resulting from disease or injury. Another
definition is the functional changes that accompany a particular disease.
Fast Spreading Diseases - Pandemic - Epidemic
Pandemic is an epidemic of
infectious disease that has
spread through human populations across a large region.
An epidemic that is
geographically widespread
and prevalent over a whole country, multiple continents, or even
worldwide.
An infectious disease occurring throughout a region or even
throughout the world and
existing everywhere over a wide
geographical area.
Flu pandemics generally exclude recurrences
of
seasonal flu. Throughout history, there have been a number of
pandemics, such as smallpox and tuberculosis. One of the most devastating
pandemics was the Black Death,
killing over 75 million people in 1350. The
most recent pandemics include the HIV pandemic as well as the 1918 and
2009 H1N1 pandemics.
Emergency Preparedness for Disease
Outbreaks (containment)
Epidemic is a
widespread outbreak of an
infectious disease where many people are
infected at the same time or attacking or affecting many individuals in a
community or a population simultaneously.
Epidemic is the rapid
spread of infectious disease to a large number of people in a given
population within a short period of time, usually
two weeks or less. A widespread endemic
disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from
it is not a pandemic.
List of Epidemics (wiki).
Outbreak
is a sudden spontaneous occurrence.
Endemic is a disease or
condition that is
regularly found among
particular people or in a
certain area.
Systemic.
Epidemics: The Invisible Threat
(video, 10.13.14, 52 min.)
Disease
X represents a hypothetical, unknown pathogen that could cause a
future epidemic. Disease X is a placeholder name that was adopted by the
World Health Organization in February 2018 on their shortlist of blueprint
priority diseases.
Coronavirus -
Measles
Improving Researchers' Abilities to Forecast Epidemics -
Doomsday
Newest doctors shun
infectious diseases specialty. Thousands of doctors ready to continue
their training celebrated
Match Day for specialty fellowships on Nov. 30, but one group lamented
its results, infectious diseases physicians. Despite its central role in
the
COVID pandemic, the infectious diseases
specialty saw
44% of its training programs go unfilled. The most obvious reason is
that the pay is low compared with other specialties. And on top of that,
the field has long been understaffed, leading to long hours – a problem
supercharged by the strain of the pandemic.
2002 - 2003 -
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Related Coronavirus is a species of
coronavirus that infects humans, bats and certain other mammals. It is an
enveloped positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that enters its host
cell by binding to the
ACE2 receptor. It is a member of the genus Betacoronavirus and subgenus Sarbecoronavirus.
SARS (wiki).
2009 -
Swine Influenza is an
infection caused by any
one of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (
SIV)
or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) is any strain of the
influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As
of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of
influenza A known as
H1N1, H1N2, H2N1, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3. Swine
influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide.
Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not
always lead to human flu, often resulting only in the production of
antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human flu, it is
called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at
increased risk of swine flu infection. It is estimated that in the
2009 flu pandemic 11–21% of the then global population (of about 6.8
billion), or around
700 million to 1.4 billion
people, contracted the illness—more in absolute terms than the
Spanish flu pandemic. However, with about 150,000–575,000 fatalities, it
had a much lower case fatality rate. In August 2010, the World Health
Organization declared the swine flu pandemic officially over. Subsequent
cases of swine flu were reported in India in 2015, with over 31,156
positive test cases and 1,841 deaths up to March 2015.
2012–2013 -
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is a viral
respiratory infection caused by the
MERS-
Coronavirus
(MERS-CoV), is also known as
camel flu.
Symptoms may range from mild to severe. They include fever, cough,
diarrhea and shortness of breath. Disease is typically more severe in
those with other health problems. Mortality is about one-third of
diagnosed cases. MERS-CoV is a betacoronavirus derived from bats. Camels
have been shown to have antibodies to MERS-CoV but the exact source of
infection in camels has not been identified. Camels are believed to be
involved in its spread to humans but it is unclear how. Spread between
humans typically requires close contact with an infected person. Its
spread is uncommon outside of hospitals. Thus, its risk to the global
population is currently deemed to be fairly low. As of 2020 there is no
specific vaccine or treatment for the disease; a number of antiviral
medications were being studied. The World Health Organization recommends
that those who come in contact with camels wash their hands frequently and
do not touch sick camels and that camel-based food products be
appropriately cooked. Treatments that help with the symptoms may be given
to those infected.
Ebola virus disease is a viral haemorrhagic fever of humans and other
primates caused by ebolaviruses. Signs and symptoms typically start
between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus with a fever,
sore throat, muscular pain, and headaches. Vomiting, diarrhoea and rash
usually follow, along with decreased function of the liver and kidneys. At
this time, some people begin to bleed both internally and externally. The
disease has a high risk of death, killing 25% to 90% of those infected,
with an average of about 50%. This is often due to low blood pressure from
fluid loss, and typically follows six to 16 days after symptoms appear.
The virus spreads through direct contact with body fluids, such as blood
from infected humans or other animals. Spread may also occur from contact
with items recently contaminated with bodily fluids. Spread of the disease
through the air between primates, including humans, has not been
documented in either laboratory or natural conditions. Semen or breast
milk of a person after recovery from EVD may carry the virus for several
weeks to months. Fruit bats are believed to be the normal carrier in
nature, able to spread the virus without being affected by it. Other
diseases such as malaria, cholera, typhoid fever, meningitis and other
viral haemorrhagic fevers may resemble EVD. Blood samples are tested for
viral RNA, viral antibodies or for the virus itself to confirm the
diagnosis. Control of outbreaks requires coordinated medical services and
community engagement. This includes rapid detection, contact tracing of
those who have been exposed, quick access to laboratory services, care for
those infected, and proper disposal of the dead through cremation or
burial. EVD outbreaks occur intermittently in tropical regions of
sub-Saharan Africa. Between
1976 and
2013, the World Health Organization reports
24 outbreaks involving 2,387 cases with 1,590 deaths. The largest outbreak
to date was the epidemic in West Africa, which occurred from December 2013
to January 2016, with 28,646 cases and 11,323 deaths. It was declared no
longer an emergency on 29 March 2016. Other outbreaks in Africa began in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May
2017,
and 2018. In July 2019, the World Health Organization declared the Congo
Ebola outbreak a world health emergency.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 is an enzyme attached to the outer
surface (cell membranes) of cells in the lungs, arteries, heart, kidney,
and intestines.
ACE2 lowers blood pressure
by catalysing the cleavage of angiotensin II (a vasoconstrictor peptide)
into angiotensin 1–7 (a vasodilator). ACE2 also serves as the
entry point into cells for some
coronaviruses. ACE2 counters the activity of the
related angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) by reducing the amount of
angiotensin-II and increasing Ang(1-7) making it a promising drug target
for treating cardiovascular diseases. ACE2 is a single-pass type I
membrane protein, with its enzymatically active domain exposed on the
surface of cells in lungs and other tissues. The extracellular domain of
ACE2 is cleaved from the transmembrane domain by another enzyme known as
sheddase, and the resulting soluble protein is released into the blood
stream and ultimately excreted into urine.
Black
Death was the deadliest pandemic in recorded history. It
killed an estimated 75–200 million people
in Europe and the Mediterranean between
1346 and 1353.
Plague is caused by the bacteria
Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic bacteria usually found in small mammals
and their fleas. People infected with Y. pestis often develop symptoms
after an incubation period of one to seven days. There are two main
clinical forms of plague infection: bubonic and pneumonic.
Bubonic plague is the most common form and
is characterized by painful swollen lymph nodes or 'buboes'.
Plague is transmitted between animals and humans
by the bite of infected fleas, direct contact with infected
tissues, and inhalation of infected respiratory droplets. Plague can be a
very severe disease in people, with a case-fatality ratio of 30% to 60%
for the bubonic type, and is always fatal for the pneumonic kind when left
untreated. Antibiotic treatment is effective against plague bacteria, so
early diagnosis and early treatment can save lives. From 2010 to 2015
there were 3248 cases reported worldwide, including 584 deaths. Currently,
the three most endemic countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Madagascar, and Peru.
New research published this month in the journal Nature, provides
biological evidence that places the ancestral origins of Black Death in
Central Asia, in what is now modern-day Kyrgyzstan.
How Black Death survivors gave their descendants an edge during pandemics.
Using DNA extracted from teeth of people who died during and after the
Black
Death pandemic, researchers were able to
identify genetic differences between those who survived and who died
from the virus. When the bubonic plague arrived in London in
1348, the disease devastated the city. So
many people died, so quickly, that the city's cemeteries filled up. In the
end, this bubonic plague, known as the Black Death, likely killed 30 to
50% of people in parts of Europe and the United Kingdom. That's a
mortality rate that's at least 200 times higher than the one estimated for
COVID.
Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague
bacterium (Yersinia pestis).
New viruses that could cause epidemics on the horizon. Suddenly they
appear and -- like the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus -- can trigger major
epidemics: Viruses that nobody had on their radar. They are not really
new, but they have changed genetically. In particular, the exchange of
genetic material between different virus species can lead to the sudden
emergence of threatening pathogens with significantly altered
characteristics. Using a new computer-assisted analysis method, we
discovered 40 previously unknown nidoviruses in various vertebrates from
fish to rodents, including 13 coronaviruses," reports DKFZ group leader
Stefan Seitz. With the help of high-performance computers, the research
team, which also includes Chris Lauber's working group from the Helmholtz
Center for Infection Research in Hanover, has sifted through almost
300,000 data sets. According to virologist Seitz, the fact that we can now
analyze such huge amounts of data in one go opens up completely new
perspectives. Virus research is still in its relative infancy. Only a
fraction of all viruses occurring in nature are known, especially those
that cause diseases in humans, domestic animals and crops. The new method
therefore promises a quantum leap in knowledge with regard to the natural
virus reservoir.
Contagion - Easy to Spread
Contagious is easily diffused or spread as
from one person to another. A
disease capable of being transmitted by
infection.
Contagious Disease is easily spread from one person to another. A
subset category of transmissible
diseases, which are transmitted to other
persons, either by physical contact with the person suffering the disease,
or by casual contact with their secretions or objects touched by them or
airborne route among other routes. Contagiousness varies between diseases.
Non-contagious infections, by contrast, usually require a special mode of
transmission between persons or hosts. These include need for intermediate
vector species (mosquitoes that carry malaria) or by non-casual transfer
of bodily fluid (such as transfusions, needle sharing or sexual contact).
The boundary between contagious and non-contagious infectious diseases is
not perfectly drawn, as illustrated classically by tuberculosis, which is
clearly transmissible from person to person, but was not classically
considered a contagious disease. In the present day, most sexually
transmitted infections are considered contagious, but only some of them
are subject to medical isolation. A disease may be known to be contagious
but its causative factors remain undetermined. A contagion may be more
infectious if the incubation period is long.
Death Rate.
Transmissible is capable of being
transmitted by infection.
Isolation -
Social Distancing.
Spread is to disperse widely and become
distributed or widespread. Become widely known and passed on.
Diffused is to move outward or cause
something to become widely known. Diffusing of light rays is when light is
subjected to scattering by reflection from a rough surface or transmission
through a translucent material.
Transmission is the passing of a pathogen causing communicable disease
from an
infected host individual or group to a particular individual or
group, regardless of whether the other individual was previously infected.
The term strictly refers to the transmission of microorganisms directly
from one individual to another by one or more of the following means:
Airborne – coughing, sneezing, breathing.
Airborne infection – really
small dry and wet particles that stay in the air for long periods of time
allowing airborne contamination even after the departure of the host.
Particle size < 5 μm.
Droplet infection – small and usually wet particles
that stay in the air for a short period of time. Contamination usually
occurs in the presence of the host. Particle size > 5 μm.
Direct physical
contact – touching an infected individual, including sexual contact.
Indirect physical contact – usually by touching a contaminated surface,
including soil (fomite).
Fecal-oral transmission – usually from unwashed
hands, contaminated food or water sources due to lack of sanitation and
hygiene, an important transmission route in pediatrics, veterinary
medicine and developing countries.
Transmission can also be indirect, via
another organism, either a vector (e.g. a mosquito or fly) or an
intermediate host (e.g. tapeworm in pigs can be transmitted to humans who
ingest improperly cooked pork). Indirect transmission could involve zoonoses or, more typically, larger pathogens like macroparasites with
more complex life cycles. Transmissions can be autochthonous (i.e. between
two individuals in the same place) or may involve travel of the
microorganism or the affected hosts.
Airborne Disease is any disease that is caused by pathogens that can
be transmitted through the air over time and distance by small particles.
Such diseases include many of considerable importance both in human and
veterinary medicine. The relevant pathogens may be viruses, bacteria, or
fungi, and they may be spread through breathing, talking, coughing,
sneezing, raising of dust, spraying of liquids, toilet flushing or any
activities which generate aerosol particles or droplets. Human airborne
diseases do not include conditions caused by air pollution such as
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), gases and any airborne particles.
Airborne transmission is distinct from transmission by respiratory
droplets, which are large enough (usually greater than 5 µm) to fall to
the ground rapidly after being produced.
Airborne
virus has long been considered to be a virus that spreads in
exhaled particles that are tiny enough to linger in the air and move with
air currents, letting them be breathed in by passersby who then get sick.
Measles is a good example of this kind of virus —
an exhaled measles pathogen can hang suspended in a room for a couple
hours after an infected person leaves. Currently available research
supports the possibility that
SARS-CoV-2 could be
spread via bioaerosols generated directly by patients' exhalation. fine
particles emitted when someone breathes that can be suspended in the air
rather than larger droplets produced through coughs and sneezes. Droplets
are larger respiratory particles that are 5 to 10 micrometers in size.
Those are considered "big," even though a 5 micrometer particle would
still be invisible to the naked eye. Traditionally, those droplets are
thought to not travel more than about three feet or so after exhalation.
That would mean the virus can only spread to people who get close to an
infected person or who touch surfaces or objects that might have become
contaminated by these droplets. This is why public health messages urge
people to wash their hands and stand at least 6 feet away from other
people.
Number Needed to Treat.
Bioaerosol are a subcategory of particles released from terrestrial
and marine ecosystems into the atmosphere. They consist of both living and
non-living components, such as fungi, pollen, bacteria and viruses. Common
sources of bioaerosols include soil, water, and sewage. Bioaerosols are
typically introduced into the air via wind turbulence over a surface. Once
in the atmosphere, they can be transported locally or globally: common
wind patterns/strengths are responsible for local dispersal, while
tropical storms and dust plumes can move bioaerosols between continents.
Over ocean surfaces, bioaerosols are generated via sea spray and bubbles.
Bioaerosols can transmit microbial pathogens, endotoxins, and allergens to
which humans are sensitive. A well-known case was the meningococcal
meningitis outbreak in sub-Saharan Africa, which was linked to dust storms
during dry seasons. Other outbreaks linked to dust events including
Mycoplasma pneumonia and tuberculosis. Another instance was an increase in
human respiratory problems in the Caribbean that may have been caused by
traces of heavy metals, microorganism bioaerosols, and pesticides
transported via dust clouds passing over the Atlantic Ocean.
Zoonosis
is an infectious disease caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites that
spread from
non-human animals to
humans. A Bat could have a virus and then
give it to an
intermediate host like a
pangolin or a snake, and then the pangolin or a snake could pass it on to
a human. Then a human could even transmit back to animals.
Deforestation
-
Factory Farms -
Over Development
Cross-Species Transmission is the transmission of an infectious
pathogen, such as a virus, between hosts belonging to different species.
Once introduced into an individual of a new host species, the pathogen may
cause disease for the new host and/or acquire the ability to infect other
individuals of the same species, allowing it to spread through the new
host population. The phenomenon is most commonly studied in virology, but
cross-species transmission may also occur with bacterial pathogens or
other types of microorganisms. CST is also called interspecies
transmission, host jump, or spillover.
Spillover Infection occurs when a reservoir population with a high
pathogen prevalence comes into contact with a novel host population. The
pathogen is transmitted from the reservoir population and may or may not
be transmitted within the host population. Spillover is a common event; in
fact, more than two-thirds of human viruses are zoonotic. Most spillover
events result in self-limited cases with no further human to human
transmission, as occurs, for example, with rabies, anthrax, histoplasmosis
or hidatidosis. Other zoonotic pathogens are able to be transmitted by
humans to produce secondary cases and even to establish limited chains of
transmission. Some examples are the Ebola and Marburg filoviruses, the
MERS and SARS coronaviruses or some avian flu viruses. Finally, some few
spillover events can result in the final adaptation of the microbe to the
humans, who became a new stable reservoir, as occurred with the HIV virus
resulting in the AIDS epidemic. In fact, most of the pathogens which are
presently exclusive of humans were probably transmitted by other animals
sometime in the past. If the history of mutual adaptation is long enough,
permanent host-microbe associations can be established resulting in
co-evolution, and even on permanent integration of the microbe genome in
the human genome, as it is the case of endogenous viruses. The closer the
two species are in phylogenetic terms, the easier it is for microbes to
overcome the biological barrier to produce successful spillovers. For this
reason, other mammals are the main source of zoonotic agents for humans.
Zoonotic spillover has increased in the last 50 years, mainly due to the
environmental impact of agriculture, that promotes deforestation, changing
wildlife habitat, and the impacts of increased land use. Spillover
infection is also known as pathogen spillover and spillover event.
Waterborne Diseases are conditions caused by pathogenic
micro-organisms that are transmitted in water. These diseases can be
spread while bathing, washing, drinking water, or by eating food exposed
to contaminated water. While diarrhea and vomiting are the most commonly
reported symptoms of waterborne illness, other symptoms can include skin,
ear, respiratory, or eye problems
Vector in epidemiology is any agent which carries and transmits an
infectious pathogen into another living organism; most agents regarded as
vectors are organisms, such as intermediate parasites or microbes, but it
could be an inanimate medium of infection such as dust particles.
Communicable Disease is a disease that is
transmitted through
direct contact with an
infected
individual or indirectly through a vector.
Non-Communicable Disease is a disease that is not transmissible
directly from one person to another.
Infection Rate is the probability or risk of an infection in a
population. It is used to measure the frequency of occurrence of new
instances of infection within a population during a specific time period.
Epidemic Disease Occurrence.
Transmission Risks and Rates Transmission of an infection requires
three conditions: An infectious individual. A susceptible individual. An
effective contact between them. An effective contact is defined as any
kind of contact between two individuals such that, if one individual is
infectious and the other susceptible, then the first individual infects
the second. Whether or not a particular kind of contact will be effective
depends on the infectious agent and its route of transmission.
Mutations.
Susceptible Individual is a member of a population who is at risk of
becoming infected by a disease. Susceptibles have been exposed to neither
the wild strain of the disease nor a vaccination against it, and thus have
not developed immunity.
Basic Reproduction Number the expected number of cases directly
generated by one case in a population where all individuals are
susceptible to infection. The definition describes the state where no
other individuals are infected or immunized naturally or through
vaccination. Some definitions, such as that of the Australian
Department of Health, add absence of "any deliberate intervention in
disease transmission". The basic reproduction number is not to be confused
with the effective reproduction number R, which is the number of cases
generated in the current state of a population, which does not have to be
the uninfected state. By definition, R0 cannot be modified through
vaccination campaigns. Also, it is important to note that R0 is a
dimensionless number and not a rate, which would have units of time-1, or
units of time like doubling time. R0 is not a biological constant for a
pathogen as it is also affected by other factors such as environmental
conditions and the behavior of the infected population. Furthermore R0
values are usually estimated from mathematical models, and the estimated
values are dependent on the model used and values of other parameters.
Thus values given in the literature only make sense in the given context
and it is recommended not to use obsolete values or compare values based
on different models.
R0 does not by itself give an
estimate of how fast an infection spreads in the population. The
most important uses of R0 are determining if an emerging infectious
disease can spread in a population and determining what proportion of the
population should be immunized through vaccination to eradicate a disease.
In commonly used infection models, when R0 > 1 the infection will be able
to start spreading in a population, but not if R0 < 1. Generally, the
larger the value of R0, the harder it is to control the epidemic. For
simple models, the proportion of the population that needs to be
effectively immunized (meaning not susceptible to infection) to prevent
sustained spread of the infection has to be larger than 1 - 1/R0.
Conversely, the proportion of the population that remains susceptible to
infection in the endemic equilibrium is 1/R0. The basic reproduction
number is affected by several factors including the duration of
infectivity of affected patients, the infectiousness of the organism, and
the number of susceptible people in the population that the affected
patients are in contact with. (Basic reproduction rate is sometimes called
basic reproductive ratio, or incorrectly basic reproductive rate, and
denoted
R0, pronounced R nought or R zero).
R-O = 1.5 reproduction rate.
People have an average of 16
contacts per day. There are many short-duration contacts (four
contacts per day per person are less than 30 min) representing casual
interactions.
Social Contacts and Mixing Patterns Relevant to the Spread of Infectious
Diseases. If you spend a few minutes with an infected person, you have
around a 10% chance of being infected, and an even higher chance for
infection if you are not aware or
trained on how to
protect yourself.
Index
Case or
Patient Zero is the first
documented patient in a disease epidemic within a population, or the first
documented patient included in an epidemiological study. It can also refer
to the first case of a condition or syndrome (not necessarily contagious)
to be described in the medical literature, whether or not the patient is
thought to be the first person affected. An index case
can achieve the status of a "classic" case study in the literature, as did
Phineas Gage, the first known person to exhibit a definitive personality
change as a result of a brain injury.
Depletion-of-Susceptibles bias in influenza vaccine waning studies:
how to ensure robust results.
Evidence of the depletion of susceptibles effect in non-experimental
pharmacoepidemiologic research.
A model for the spread and control of pandemic influenza in an isolated
geographical region. Ee postulated 12 control scenarios that combined
social distancing, targeted antiviral treatment and antiviral prophylaxis
(TATP) and home quarantine. For each, we calculated the value of Rc and
the proportion of the population infected in an epidemic under the
application of selected control scenarios. Structured Kermack–McKendrick
integral equation model to describe the spread of a
novel influenza-like
virus in an isolated population.
Environmental Persistence of Influenza Viruses Is Dependent upon Virus
Type and Host Origin. Highly transmissible
influenza
viruses (IV) must remain stable and infectious under a wide range of
environmental conditions following release from the respiratory tract into
the air. Understanding how expelled IV persist in the environment is
critical to limiting the spread of these viruses.
A note on the derivation of epidemic final sizes. Final size relations
are known for many epidemic models. The derivations are often tedious and
difficult, involving indirect methods to solve a system of integro-differential
equations.
Viral Shedding refers to the expulsion and release of
virus progeny
following successful reproduction during a host-cell infection. Once
replication has been completed and the host cell is exhausted of all
resources in making viral progeny, the viruses may begin to leave the cell
by several methods. The term is used to refer to shedding from a single
cell, shedding from one part of the body into another part of the body,
and shedding from bodies into the environment where the viruses may infect
other bodies.
Superspreading Event is an event in which an
infectious disease is
spread much more than
usual, while an unusually
contagious
organism infected with a disease is known as a
superspreader. In the context of a human-borne illness, a
superspreader is an individual who is more likely to infect others,
compared with a typical infected person. Such superspreaders are of
particular concern in epidemiology. Some cases of superspreading conform
to the 80/20 rule, where approximately 20% of infected individuals are
responsible for 80% of transmissions, although superspreading can still be
said to occur when superspreaders account for a higher or lower percentage
of transmissions. In epidemics with such superspreader events, the
majority of individuals infect relatively few secondary contacts. SSEVs
are shaped by multiple factors including a decline in herd immunity,
nosocomial infections, virulence, viral load, misdiagnosis, airflow
dynamics, immune suppression, and co-infection with another pathogen.
Reducing COVID-19 spread. Researchers have found that
physical distancing is universally
effective at reducing the spread of COVID-19, while social bubbles and
masks are more situation-dependent. The researchers
developed a model to test the effectiveness of measures such as physical
distancing, masks or social bubbles when used in various settings. The
researchers incorporated data from reports of outbreaks at a range of
events, such as parties, meals, nightclubs, public transit and
restaurants. The researchers say that an individual's chances of becoming
infected with COVID-19 depend heavily on the transmission rate and the
duration -- the amount of time spent in a particular setting. Events were
categorized as saturating (high transmission probability) or linear (low
transmission probability). Examples of high transmission settings include
bars, nightclubs and overcrowded workplaces while low transmission
settings include public transit with masks, distancing in restaurants and
outdoor activities. The model suggests that physical distancing was
effective at reducing COVID-19 transmission in all settings but the
effectiveness of social bubbles depends on whether chances of transmission
are high or low. In settings where there is mixing and the probability of
transmission is high, such as crowded indoor workplaces, bars and
nightclubs and high schools, having strict social bubbles can help reduce
the spread of COVID-19. The researchers found that social bubbles are less
effective in low transmission settings or activities where there is
mixing, such as engaging in outdoor activities, working in spaced offices
or travelling on public transportation wearing masks. They note that masks
and other physical barriers may be less effective in saturating, high
transmission settings (parties, choirs, restaurant kitchens, crowded
offices, nightclubs and bars) because even if masks halve the transmission
rates that may not have much impact on the transmission probability (and
so on the number of infections).
Host - Harbor - Carrier
Host in biology is an organism that harbors a
parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist guest (symbiont), the
guest typically being provided with
nourishment and shelter. Examples
include animals playing host to parasitic worms (e.g. nematodes), cells harbouring pathogenic (disease-causing) viruses, a bean plant hosting
mutualistic (helpful) nitrogen-fixing bacteria. More specifically in
botany, a host plant supplies food resources to micropredators, which have
an evolutionarily stable relationship with their hosts similar to
ectoparasitism. The host range is the collection of hosts that an organism
can use as a partner.
Definitive or
Primary Host - an organism in which the parasite reaches maturity
and reproduces sexually, if possible. This is the final host.
Secondary or
Intermediate Host - an organism that harbors the sexually immature
parasite and is required by the parasite to undergo development and
complete its life cycle. It often acts as a vector of the parasite to
reach its definitive host. For example, Dirofilaria immitis, the heartworm
of dogs, uses the mosquito as its intermediate host until it matures into
the infective L3 larval stage.
Paratenic Host
- an organism that harbors the sexually immature parasite but is not
necessary for the parasite's development cycle to progress. Paratenic
hosts serve as "dumps" for non-mature stages of a parasite in which they
can accumulate in high numbers. The trematode Alaria americana may serve
as an example: the so-called mesocercarial stages of this parasite reside
in tadpoles, which are rarely eaten by the definitive canine host. The
tadpoles are more frequently preyed on by snakes, in which the
mesocercariae may not undergo further development. However, the parasites
may accumulate in the snake paratenic host and infect the definitive host
once the snake is consumed by a canid. The nematode Skrjabingylus nasicola
is another example, with slugs as the intermediate hosts, shrews and
rodents as the paratenic hosts, and mustelids as the definitive hosts.
Dead-end,
Incidental, or
Accidental Host - an
organism that generally does not allow transmission to the definitive
host, thereby preventing the parasite from completing its development. For
example, humans and horses are dead-end hosts for West Nile virus, whose
life cycle is normally between culicine mosquitoes and birds. People and
horses can become infected, but the level of virus in their blood does not
become high enough to pass on the infection to mosquitoes that bite them.
Reservoir Host - an organism that
harbors a pathogen but suffers
no ill effects. However, it serves as a source of infection to other
species that are susceptible, with important implications for disease
control. A single reservoir host may be
reinfected several times.
Dormant.
Fomite
is any inanimate object that, when contaminated with or exposed to
infectious agents (such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses or fungi),
can
transfer disease to a new host. In the 21st century, the role of fomites
in disease transfer is higher than ever in human history because of the
indoor lifestyle.
A Genetic Rearrangement of Red Blood Cell Glycophorin Receptors that
confers a 40 percent reduced risk from severe Malaria.
Scientists discover off-switch for ‘Molecular Machine’ active in many
diseases. Researchers have uncovered how an
inflammation process automatically
switches off in healthy cells.
The Brain Detects Disease in others even before it breaks out. Our
sense of vision and smell alone are enough to make us aware that someone
has a
disease even before it breaks out.
Herd Immunity.
Wash Your Hands - Soap - Disinfect - Clean
Keeping Hands Clean
is one of the most important steps that you can take to avoid getting
sick and spreading germs to others. Though ordinary soap diluted
in water is sufficient to rupture and kill many types of
bacteria and
viruses, soap
and water does not always kill germs, but good hand washing works by removing germs from
your hands, which is why 20 seconds of good
Hand
Washing is sometimes necessary. Water is a
solvent, but it needs a
little extra help sometimes.
Protect Yourself from Viruses. If sick,
limit contact
with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them. Avoid close contact with sick people. Wash your hands
often with soap and water.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and
mouth because
germs
spread this way.
When you
cough or
sneeze, it's a good
idea to cover your nose and mouth with a tissue and then throw out
your used tissue. If you don’t have a tissue, then cough or sneeze into
your upper sleeve or elbow, not into your hands.
Hand
Washing -
Good Hygiene -
Bathing (skin)
Think Twice -
Food
Safety -
Air
Purification
Infections -
Antiviral Drug
-
Pathogens
-
Colds
Disinfect is to clean something, especially
with a chemical, in order to destroy
bacteria, microorganisms or
pathogens.
Clean or
cleaning is to remove
unwanted substances like dirt and filth from a surface and make it free
from impurities or
infection.
Cleanliness is
being clean and free from germs, dirt, trash, or waste, and the habit of
achieving and maintaining that state.
Stain Removing
Tips (image).
Soap is
made from fats and oils that react with lye (sodium hydroxide). Solid fats
like coconut oil, palm oil, tallow (rendered beef fat), or lard (rendered
pork fat), are used to form bars of soap that stay hard and resist
dissolving in the water left in the soap dish. Solid soap, because of its
reusable nature, may hold bacteria acquired from previous uses. The CDC
still states "liquid soap with hands-free controls for dispensing is
preferable. Soap is made of pin-shaped molecules, each of which has a
hydrophilic head, it readily bonds with water and a hydrophobic tail,
which shuns water and prefers to link up with oils and fats. These
molecules, when suspended in water, alternately float about as solitary
units, interact with other molecules in the solution and assemble
themselves into little bubbles called micelles, with heads pointing
outward and tails tucked inside. When you wash your hands with soap and
water, you surround any microorganisms on your skin with soap molecules.
The hydrophobic tails of the free-floating soap molecules attempt to evade
water; in the process, they wedge themselves into the lipid envelopes of
certain microbes and viruses, prying them apart.
Carbolic Soap is a mildly antiseptic soap containing
carbolic
acid and/or
cresylic
acid, both of which are
phenols
derived from either coal tar or petroleum sources.
Lifebuoy Soap.
Vegan
Soap are made from fats or oils of vegetable origin rather than from
saponified tallow or other animal fats. In addition to fats, the other
main ingredient is either wood ash, potassium hydroxide or sodium
hydroxide.
Castile Soap is an olive-oil-based hard soap made in a style similar
to that originating in the Castile region of Spain.
Antibacterial Soap is a soap which contains chemical ingredients that
purportedly assist in killing bacteria. The majority of antibacterial
soaps contain triclosan, though other chemical additives are also common.
Glycerin Soap is a soap that contains glycerin, a component of fat or
oil.
Ivory
Soap bar contains sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate or sodium palm
kernelate, water, sodium chloride, sodium silicate, magnesium sulfate, and
fragrance. The soap bar has a determined
pH value: 9.5 and new varieties of Ivory soap contain altered
ingredients, such as in "Simply Ivory" (or "simplement ivory"): sodium
tallowate and/or sodium palmate, water, sodium cocoate or sodium palm
kernelate, glycerin, sodium chloride, fragrance, one or more of the
following: coconut acid, palm kernel acid, tallow acid or palmitic acid,
and tetrasodium EDTA. The additional ingredients primarily are to reduce
the harshness of the soap, since additional glycerin and fatty acids are
typically used for that. Tetrasodium EDTA is primarily to reduce soap scum
formation. Bars of Ivory now come without the words "soap" or "float" on
the packaging, and they are made with the latter formula. The optimal
range for pH-balanced skincare products is between 4 and 6.
New, biological, and safer soaps. Surfactants are synthesized from
petroleum and are the main active ingredient in most soaps, detergents,
and shampoos. Biosurfactants, produced by bacteria, are safer and can
replace synthetic
surfactants. Rhamnolipid molecules are some of the safest surfactants
known and are particularly attractive, thanks to their biodegradability,
minimal toxicity, and amenability to be produced from industrial waste.
But there's a problem. They are made using Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a
pathogenic bacterium harmful to humans.
Hand Sanitizer is a liquid generally used to decrease infectious
agents on the hands. Formulations of the
alcohol-based type are preferable
to hand washing with soap and water in most situations in the healthcare
setting.
Antiseptic are
antimicrobial substances that are applied to
living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or
putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from antibiotics by
the latter's ability to safely destroy bacteria within the body, and from
disinfectants, which destroy microorganisms found on non-living objects.
Some antiseptics are true germicides, capable of destroying microbes (bacteriocidal),
while others are bacteriostatic and only prevent or inhibit their growth.
Antibacterials include antiseptics that have the proven ability to act
against bacteria. Microbicides which destroy virus particles are called
viricides or antivirals. Antifungals, also known as an antimycotics, are
pharmaceutical fungicides used to treat and prevent mycosis (fungal
infection).
Disinfectant are
antimicrobial agents that are applied to the
surface of non-living objects to destroy microorganisms that are living on
the objects. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms,
especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than
sterilization, which is an extreme physical and/or chemical process that
kills all types of life. Disinfectants are different from other
antimicrobial agents such as
antibiotics, which
destroy microorganisms within the body, and antiseptics, which destroy
microorganisms on living tissue. Disinfectants are also different from
biocides — the latter are intended to destroy all forms of life, not just
microorganisms. Disinfectants work by
destroying the cell wall
of microbes or interfering with their metabolism. Sanitizers are
substances that simultaneously clean and disinfect. Disinfectants are
frequently used in hospitals, dental surgeries, kitchens, and bathrooms to
kill infectious organisms. Bacterial endospores are most resistant to
disinfectants, but some viruses and bacteria also possess some tolerance.
Disinfectants are used to rapidly kill bacteria. They kill off the
bacteria by causing the proteins to become damaged and outer layers of the
bacteria cell to rupture. The DNA material subsequently leaks out. In
wastewater treatment, a disinfection step with
chlorine,
ultra-violet (
UV) radiation or
ozonation
can be included as tertiary treatment to remove
pathogens
from wastewater, for example if it is to be reused to irrigate golf
courses. An alternative term used in the sanitation sector for
disinfection of waste streams, sewage sludge or fecal sludge is
sanitisation or
Sanitization. -
Water Filters.
Hypochlorous Acid is a weak acid that forms when chlorine dissolves in
water, and itself partially dissociates, forming hypochlorite, ClO-. HClO
and ClO- are oxidizers, and the primary disinfection agents of chlorine
solutions. HClO cannot be isolated from these solutions due to rapid
equilibration with its precursor. Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and calcium
hypochlorite (Ca(ClO)2), are bleaches, deodorants, and disinfectants.
Contamination is the presence of an unwanted constituent, harmful
substance or impurity in a material, physical body, natural environment,
workplace, etc.
Cross-Contamination
-
Allergies -
Food Safety.
Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in Hospitals: What Is on Patient Hands and
in their Rooms? Healthcare workers' hands are still the primary mode
of microbe transmission to patients. But hospital room surfaces like the
nurse call button can also have germs.
Superbugs
-
Infection Prevention in Aging.
Pneumonia-Causing Bacteria can be spread by Nose Picking and Rubbing.
Sterilization in microbiology refers to any process that eliminates,
removes, kills, or deactivates all forms of life and other biological
agents (such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, spore forms, prions, unicellular
eukaryotic organisms such as Plasmodium, etc.) present in a specified
region, such as a surface, a
volume of fluid, medication, or in a compound such as biological
culture media. Sterilization can be achieved through various means,
including: heat, chemicals, irradiation, high pressure, and filtration.
Sterilization is distinct from disinfection, sanitization, and
pasteurization, in that sterilization kills, deactivates, or eliminates
all forms of life and other biological agents which are present.
The Potentially Deadly Bacterium that's on everyone's Skin. A close
relative of
MRSA, Staphylococcus epidermidis, is a major cause of life-threatening
infections after surgery, but it is often overlooked by clinicians and
scientists because it is so abundant. They have identified a set of 61
genes that allow this normally harmless
skin
bacterium to cause life-threatening illness.
Staphylococcus Epidermidis is a
Gram-positive bacterium, and one of over 40 species belonging to the
genus Staphylococcus. It is part of the normal
human flora, typically the
skin flora, and less commonly the mucosal
flora. It is a facultative anaerobic bacteria. Although S. epidermidis is
not usually pathogenic, patients with compromised immune systems are at
risk of developing infection. These infections are generally
hospital-acquired. S. epidermidis is a particular concern for people with
catheters or other surgical implants because it is known to form biofilms
that grow on these devices. Being part of the normal skin flora, S.
epidermidis is a frequent contaminant of specimens sent to the diagnostic
laboratory.
Plasma device designed for consumers can quickly disinfect surfaces.
Plasma-based disinfectant and sanitizer proves 99% effective at killing
bacteria and now is being tested on deactivating virus. The COVID-19
pandemic has cast a harsh light on the urgent need for quick and easy
techniques to sanitize and disinfect everyday high-touch objects such as
doorknobs, pens, pencils, and personal protective gear worn to keep
infections from spreading. Now scientists at the U.S. Department of
Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the New Jersey
Institute of Technology (NJIT) have demonstrated the first flexible,
hand-held, device based on low-temperature plasma -- a gas that consists
of atoms, molecules, and free-floating electrons and ions -- that
consumers can quickly and easily use to disinfect surfaces without special
training. The room-temperature plasma interacts with air to produce what
are called reactive oxygen and nitrogen species -- molecules and atoms of
the two elements -- along with a mixture of electrons, currents, and
electrical fields. The electrons and fields team up to enable the reactive
species to penetrate and destroy bacteria cell walls and kill the cells.
Room-temperature plasmas, which compare with the fusion plasmas PPPL
studies that are many times hotter than the core of the sun, are produced
by sending short pulses of high-speed electrons through gases like air,
creating the plasma and leaving no time for it to heat up. Such plasmas
are also far cooler than the thousand-degree plasmas that the laboratory
studies to synthesize nanoparticles and conduct other research. A special
feature of the device is its ability to improve the action of hydrogen
peroxide, a common antiseptic cleanser. "We demonstrate faster
disinfection than plasma or hydrogen peroxide alone in stable low power
operation," the authors write. "Hence, plasma activation of a low
concentration hydrogen peroxide solution, using a hand-held flexible DBD
device results in a dramatic improvement in disinfection."
Space Station gets a
bacteria-killing upgrade using an antimicrobial metal surface that
explodes bacteria on contact. Coating called AGXX, which consists of thin
layers of the metals silver and
ruthenium treated with
vitamin C. AGXX
works via a
redox reaction
between the silver and ruthenium, producing free radicals that damage
bacterial cell membranes. Over time, some bacteria grew, but by 19 months
there were 80% fewer strains on the AGXX than the steel control.
Spacecraft are ripe environments for bacterial resistance, partly because
there isn’t the normal competition between the human-associated bacteria and bugs from environment. Certain strains develop thicker cell walls
and others multiply faster in microgravity.
Far-UVC light: A new tool to control the spread of airborne-mediated
microbial diseases.
Germicidal ultraviolet light,
typically at 254 nm, if used directly, can be a health hazard to skin and
eyes. But
far-UVC light (207–222 nm) efficiently kills pathogens potentially
without harm to exposed human tissues.
A 9-Watt Near-UV Light Disinfecting A19 E26 LED Light Bulb, 800
Lumens, 3000 Kelvin, Non-Dimmable.
Researchers use ultrasound waves to move objects hands-free.
Contactless manipulation method could be used in industries such as
robotics and manufacturing. While it's been demonstrated before that light
and sound waves can manipulate objects, the objects have always been
smaller than the wavelength of sound or light, or on the order of
millimeters to nanometers, respectively. The University of Minnesota team
has developed a method that can move larger objects using the principles
of metamaterial physics. Metamaterials are materials that are artificially
engineered to interact with waves, like light and sound. By placing a
metamaterial pattern on the surface of an object, the researchers were
able to use sound to steer it in a certain direction without physically
touching it.
Take off your Shoes when entering a Home. A study done by the University of Arizona found an average of
421,000 different bacteria on shoes. Coliforms, a bacterial
indicator of the level of sanitation of foods and water (and
universally present in feces),
were detected on the bottoms of 96% of shoes.
Masks - Air Filtration
Surgical Mask may keep you from spreading germs, but it will not
effectively protect you
from
breathing in tiny viruses that can easily get through the mask and
around the mask where it's lose and not sealed against the face. A
N95
Respirator Mask is more effective as long as it's
fitted properly and not
worn for several hours because it also
restricts oxygen flow. Don't wear a
face mask if you are not sick. Face masks are for sick people and health
care providers. Leave the face masks in stores for the doctors and the
nurses and the sick people, unless you can
make your own mask. The N95 is the USA standard. The KN95 is the
China standard. The KF94 is the Korean standard. FFP2 is the EU standard.
The most commonly known respirator rating is the
NIOSH system, which rates
masks as N95, N99, and N100. These masks are rated by the
American National Institute
for Occupational Safety and health, which is part of the CDC. The
number on a
NIOSH rated masks signifies the
filtration
effectiveness of the
filter. For
example, an
N95 mask is required to stop AT LEAST 95% of particles of 0.3
microns in size. An R95 mask will also filter out at least 95% of
0.3-micron particles. The only difference comes in with N100 and P100
rated masks. Complete
filtration is at this point impossible, and a 100
rated mask is effective at stopping 99.97% of 0.3-micron particles. Hong
Kong inventor unveils
reusable masks he
says employ UV rays, ‘photocatalytic coating’ to disinfect in storage,
Stark Chan, who rose to fame as a teen tech prodigy, says the coating on
the masks’ exterior releases a substance that can kill bacteria and
viruses. The tech entrepreneur said while the new masks have no formal
certification, a local university has found them more effective than
surgical masks. Company launches ultraviolet disinfectant that makes a
single-use mask reusable.
A Novel Anti-Influenza Copper Oxide Containing Respiratory Face Mask.
N95 filtering face piece
respirator
decontamination that would allow it to be reused multiple times
instead of throwing away after one use.
Why Wearing a Mask
Works (image) -
Infrared video shows the risks of airborne coronavirus spread (youtube).
You have a
67% chance of being infected when you're
not wearing a
mask. You have a
16% chance of being infected when you are
wearing a mask.
In Hong Cong, 96% of the people wear masks. The infection rate was 0.04%.
Surgical Mask is intended to be worn by health professionals during
surgery and during nursing to catch the bacteria shed in liquid droplets
and aerosols from the wearer's mouth and nose.
They are not designed to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne
bacteria or virus particles and are less effective than
respirators, such as N95 or NIOSH masks, which provide better protection
due to their material, shape and tight seal.
Flu.
Protective Masks
are pieces of kit or equipment worn on the head and face to afford
protection to the wearer, and today usually have these functions:
Providing a supply of air or filtering the outside air (respirators and
dust masks). Protecting the face against flying objects or dangerous
environments, while allowing vision.
Elastomeric masks provide a more durable, less costly option for health
care workers. Use of elastomeric masks reduces the number of N95 masks
needed by nearly 95 percent in one month.
UV-C light is effective for killing COVID-19 on N95s, study demonstrates.
NIOSH Air Filtration Rating refers to the publications of National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of US government
pertaining to
respirators and masks worn to filter contaminated air,
regardless of cause. The first part of the filter's classification uses
the letters N, R, or P to indicate the filter's ability to function when
exposed to petroleum. "N" = not resistant to petroleum. "R" = somewhat
resistant to petroleum. "P" = strongly resistant to petroleum. The second
part lists the percentage of particles that the mask is certified to block
(such as 95 or 97 percent). The most common is
N95,
which is recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
for most cases of air contamination. These
filters are designed to
seal tightly around mouth and nose and are made of material certified to
block 95% of particles 0.3 μm or larger in diameter, roughly the size of a
single virus and include PM2.5.
Safety Engineering -
Occupational Hazards -
Hazmat Suit -
Medical
Face Shield
Homemade Face Masks may be a Combination of Two Fabrics. One layer of
a tightly woven cotton sheet combined with two layers of polyester-spandex
chiffon, which is a sheer fabric often used in evening gowns, can filter
out the most aerosol particles (80-99%, depending on particle size), with
performance close to that of an N95 mask material. Substituting the
chiffon with natural silk or flannel, or simply using a cotton quilt with
cotton-polyester batting, produced similar results. The researchers point
out that tightly woven fabrics, such as cotton, can act as a mechanical
barrier to particles, whereas fabrics that hold a static charge, like
certain types of chiffon and natural silk, serve as an electrostatic
barrier. However, a 1% gap reduced the filtering efficiency of all masks
by half or more, emphasizing the importance of a properly fitted mask.
Why is it So Hard Not to Touch your Face?
Touching your face is a perfect example of a
habit. You often
experience small
itches on your face,
because of the many
sensory receptors
in the
skin of your face and mucous
membranes. The motions you need to make to move your arms and hands to
touch your face in a particular place are roughly the same each time you
do it, and you have been practicing these motions your whole life. As a
result, responding to an itch or small pain with a touch is easy to do
without thinking about it. To stop yourself from engaging in this action,
there are two effortful processes you have to go through. First, you have
to be
mindful of an action you have
performed your whole life mindlessly. That is hard. Second, to stop
yourself from doing something that your
motivational system has
engaged, you have to activate a second circuit in the motivational system
that stops actions that have been engaged. This inhibition system is
effortful to engage and can be disrupted by stress or distraction. you
need to
reprogram your habit
system to perform a different action and teach your motivational
system something new and more beneficial. Of course there will be times
when you will eventually touch your face without thinking about it. But
over time, you will become more and more aware it and start
exercising control. Don't rub your eyes. Don't
bite your fingernails. Don't wipe your nose on the back of your hand.
Two Specific Nose Cell Types have been identified as likely Initial
Infection Points for COVID-19 coronavirus. We found that the receptor
protein -- ACE2 -- and the TMPRSS2 protease that can activate
SARS-CoV-2 entry are expressed in cells in different
organs, including the cells on the inner lining of the nose. We then
revealed that mucus-producing g
oblet cells and
ciliated cells in the nose had the highest levels of
both these COVID-19 virus proteins, of all cells in the airways. This
makes these cells the most likely initial infection route for the virus.
The two key entry proteins
ACE2 and
TMPRSS2
were also found in cells in the cornea of the eye and in the lining of the
intestine. This suggests another possible route of infection via the eye
and tear ducts, and also revealed a potential for fecal-oral transmission.
Say it, Don't Spray it! How much we
spit when talking?
During
human expiratory activities such as talking, laughing, coughing and
sneezing, many droplets of saliva and other secretions are expelled from
the respiratory tract (the mouth and nose). Larger droplets may rapidly
settle out of the air and thus contribute to
disease transmission to
individuals in close proximity; smaller droplets may remain suspended for
a long time and contribute to disease transmission over larger distances.
Their sizes predominately determine the times they can remain airborne and
thus the possibility of spread of infectious diseases if these respiratory
droplets contain infectious pathogens. Moreover, the size distribution of
such droplets influences the type of microorganisms that may be carried as
well as the strategies for controlling the infections.
I don't judge people who wear a mask or
who don't wear a mask. Everyone has
personal reasons. I wear a mask mostly out of respect for other people,
and not just for myself. Wearing a mask is just one decision of many
decisions that I will make today. I wear a mask when the risk is high or
when the vulnerability is high. But sometimes I am temporarily incoherent
when I make a spontaneous decision. I'm not claiming insanity or claiming
to be a victim of a calamity, it's just a random choice of circumstance.
I'm not saying that it's right or wrong, because it's not a carefully
decided choice, it is what it is. I will debate it if necessary, but we
only have so much time, but I'm willing if you are, just as long as it's
relative to our situation.
Discrimination -
Assumptions.
Hospital Infections
There were approximately 721,800
infections in 648,000 patients
of 183 hospitals in 10 states in a 2011 survey. In that year alone, around
75,000 of these patients died that year as a result of a health
care-associated
infection. Hospital infections cost the U.S.
9.8 billion
each year. Superbugs are on the rise.
Hospitals are gaming a system by failing to report patient-infection rates
and, in turn, the facilities can see a bonus or a penalty worth millions
of dollars. The bonuses and penalties are part of Medicare's Inpatient
Quality Reporting program, which is meant to reward hospitals for low
infection rates and give consumers access to the information at the
agency's
Hospital Compare website.
Contagious Transmissible
-
What is an Infection -
Super Bugs -
Disease -
Microbiota
Hospital-Acquired Infection or nosocomial infection is an
infection that is acquired in a hospital or other
health care facility. To emphasize both hospital and nonhospital settings,
it is sometimes instead called a healthcare–associated infection (HAI or
HCAI). Such an infection can be acquired in hospital, nursing home,
rehabilitation facility, outpatient clinic, diagnostic laboratory or other
clinical settings. Infection is spread to the susceptible patient in the
clinical setting by various means. Health care staff also spread
infection, in addition to contaminated equipment, bed linens, or air
droplets. The infection can originate from the outside environment,
another infected patient, staff that may be infected, or in some cases,
the source of the infection cannot be determined. In some cases the
microorganism originates from the patient's own skin microbiota, becoming
opportunistic after surgery or other procedures that compromise the
protective skin barrier. Though the patient may have contracted the
infection from their own skin, the infection is still considered
nosocomial since it develops in the health care setting. In the United
States, the Centers for Disease d fungi combined, cause or contribute to
99,000 deaths each year. In Europe, where hospital surveys have been
conducted, the category of gram-negative infections are estimated to
account for two-thirds of the 25,000 deaths each year. Nosocomial
infections can cause severe pneumonia and infections of the urinary tract,
bloodstream and other parts of the body. Many types display antimicrobial
resistance, which can complicate treatment.
Antimicrobial Resistance is the ability of a microbe to
resist the
effects of medication previously used to treat them. This broader term
also covers
antibiotic resistance, which applies to bacteria and
antibiotics. Resistance arises through one of three ways: natural
resistance in certain types of bacteria; genetic mutation; or by one
species acquiring resistance from another. Resistance can appear
spontaneously because of random
mutations; or more commonly following gradual buildup over time, and
because of misuse of
antibiotics or
antimicrobials. Resistant microbes are increasingly difficult to treat,
requiring alternative medications or higher doses—which may be more costly
or more toxic.
Microbes
resistant to multiple antimicrobials are called
multidrug resistant (MDR); or sometimes superbugs. Antimicrobial
resistance is on the rise with millions of deaths every year. A few
infections are now completely untreatable because of resistance. All
classes of microbes develop resistance (fungi, antifungal resistance;
viruses, antiviral resistance; protozoa, antiprotozoal resistance;
bacteria, antibiotic resistance).
Humans are mostly Microbes.
How can governments fight antimicrobial resistance with policy?
Described in these 69 studies were 17 different types of policies that
governments have deployed and tested to reduce antimicrobial use,
including public awareness campaigns, antimicrobial guidelines,
vaccination, and tailored regulations for prescribing and reimbursement.
Unfortunately, most existing policy options have not been rigorously
evaluated, which limits their usefulness in planning future policy
interventions. Of the studies, only 4 had a randomized controlled design,
the gold standard for medical interventions, while 35 used rigorous
quasi-experimental designs and the remaining 30 were uncontrolled and
descriptive. The current systematic review was unable to directly
investigate the impact of the different interventions on AMR, but
reductions in antimicrobial use are likely to lead to lower levels of
resistance over time.
Antifungal Resistance Threat. Without immediate action, humanity will
potentially face further escalation in resistance in fungal disease, a
group of scientists from the around the world has warned. According to the
scientists most fungal pathogens identified by the World Health
Organization -- accounting for around 3.8 million deaths a year -- are
either already resistant or rapidly acquiring resistance to antifungal
drugs.
Molecular basis of major Antibiotic Resistance transfer mechanism
unraveled. The research team discovered that the workhorse of the
transposon insertion machine, the transposase protein, has an unusual
shape. This enables it to bind to the DNA in an inactive state, which
prevents cleavage and thus destruction of the transposon until it can
paste the antibiotic resistance gene in the new host genome. The protein's
special shape also forces the transposon DNA to unwind and open up,
allowing it to insert its antibiotic resistance cargo at many places in an
extremely diverse range of bacteria.
Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria -
Fecal
Transplants
Antimicrobial Properties of Copper and its alloys (brasses,
bronzes,
cupronickel, copper-nickel-zinc, and others) are natural antimicrobial
materials.
Infection outbreaks at Hospitals could be reduced by Copper-Coated
Uniforms.
Uniforms brushed with
tiny copper
nanoparticles to reduce the spread of
bacterial infections and viruses.
Durable, washable textile coating can repel viruses. New research
could lead to
safely reusable
PPE. Researchers have created a textile coating that can not only
repel liquids like blood and saliva but can also prevent viruses from
adhering to the surface.
Smartphone Screen Technology used to trick Harmful Bacteria.
Conducting plastics found in smartphone screens can be used to trick the
metabolism of pathogenic bacteria by adding or removing electrons from the
plastic surface, bacteria may be tricked into growing more or less.
Antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their
growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the
microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are
used against bacteria and antifungals are used against fungi. They can
also be classified according to their function. Agents that kill microbes
are called microbicidal, while those that merely inhibit their growth are
called biostatic. The use of antimicrobial medicines to treat infection is
known as
antimicrobial chemotherapy, while the use of antimicrobial medicines
to prevent infection is known as
antimicrobial prophylaxis, which refers to the prevention of infection
complications using antimicrobial therapy (most commonly antibiotics).
Antibiotics (drugs)
-
Air Purification
-
Hand Washing
Oligodynamic effect is a biocidal effect of metals, especially heavy
metals, that occurs even in low concentrations.
Biocide
is a chemical substance or microorganism intended to destroy, deter,
render harmless, or exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism by
chemical or biological means.
Disinfectant are antimicrobial agents that are applied to the surface
of non-living objects to destroy microorganisms that are living on the
objects.
Hospital workers often transfer germs when removing gloves and
gowns. Hand Washing TipsDoctors should also wipe their stethoscopes between patients
Choosing a Hospital and Surgeon with Low Infections Rates.
Bacterial infections
are still killing about 700,000 people each year.
Efflux in microbiology is a mechanism responsible for moving compounds,
like
neurotransmitters, toxic
substances, and antibiotics, out of the cell; this is considered to be a
vital part of xenobiotic metabolism. This mechanism is important in
medicine as it can contribute to bacterial antibiotic resistance. Efflux
systems function via an energy-dependent mechanism (active transport) to
pump out unwanted toxic substances through specific efflux pumps. Some
efflux systems are drug-specific, whereas others may accommodate multiple
drugs with small multidrug resistance (SMR) transporters.
Hospital
Errors -
Best
Practice
Monoclonal antibody prevents malaria infection in African adults. The
Phase 2 NIAID-USTTB trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of a one-time,
intravenous infusion of a monoclonal antibody called CIS43LS. This
antibody was previously shown to neutralize the sporozoites of P.
falciparum in the skin and blood before they could infect liver cells.
Antibody protected clinical trial participants during six-month malaria
season. One dose of an antibody drug safely protected healthy,
non-pregnant adults from
malaria
infection during an intense six-month malaria season in Mali, Africa, a
National Institutes of Health clinical trial has found. The antibody was
up to 88.2% effective at preventing infection over a 24-week period,
demonstrating for the first time that a monoclonal antibody can prevent
malaria infection in an endemic region.
An
estimated 241 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide in 2020,
according to the World Health Organization (WHO), resulting in an
estimated
627,000 deaths, mostly in
children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Malaria
is caused by
Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted to people through the bite
of an infected mosquito. The mosquito injects the parasites in a form
called
sporozoites into the skin and bloodstream. These travel to the liver,
where they mature and multiply. Then the mature parasite spreads
throughout the body via the bloodstream to cause illness. P. falciparum is
the Plasmodium species most likely to result in severe malaria infections,
which, if not promptly treated, may lead to death.
Viruses -
Plague's and Epidemics
By masquerading as red blood cells, the
Nanosponges attract harmful toxins and remove them from the
bloodstream.
Olympus $40,000
gastrointestinal scopes endoscopic retrograde
cholangiopancreatography. The scope’s design could allow
blood and tissue to become trapped, spreading bacteria from one
patient to another. Physicians perform nearly 700,000 of those
procedures annually in the U.S., and 2 million worldwide.
Most of these 18
bacteria, which cause about 2.3 million yearly infections in
the US, have developed
measurable resistances to many drugs within the existing
classes.
Heater-cooler devices used in cardiac surgery aerosolized
the
Mycobacterium chimaera into the air leading to direct
contamination of the surgical wound.
Comprehensive serological profiling of human populations using a
synthetic human virome
According to the
Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, on any given day about 1 in
25 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated
infection. Tens of thousands of people die each year as a
result.
Research, including a 2015 investigation from Consumer
Reports, found that many of these cases can be traced back to
inappropriate
antibiotic use, the very drugs that are supposed to fight
infections. Patients on
Antibiotics are
more susceptible to C. diff, for example, because antibiotics
kill off
intestinal bacteria
make sure all visitors and medical staff wash their hands before
approaching you.
Bringing a canister of
bleach wipes wiping down surfaces around the hospital bed
can reduce the risk of some
C. diff infections by as much as 85 percent.
Bathing with
chlorhexidine soap, which can remove harmful bacteria you
may be carrying on your skin, days before scheduled surgery.
New Disease Surveillance Tool helps Detect any Human-Infecting Virus.
A new computational method called '
CATCH'
designs molecular 'baits' for any virus known to infect humans and all
their known strains, including those that are present in low abundance in
clinical samples, such as Zika. The approach can help small sequencing
centers around the globe conduct disease surveillance, which is crucial
for controlling outbreaks.
Antibiotics - Antimicrobial
Antibiotic are a type of antimicrobial
drug used in the treatment and prevention of
bacterial infections. They
may either
kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria. A limited number of
antibiotics also possess antiprotozoal activity. Antibiotics are not
effective against viruses such as the
common cold or influenza, and their
inappropriate use allows the emergence of
resistant organisms. Drugs which
inhibit viruses are termed antiviral drugs or antivirals rather than
antibiotics.
List of Antibiotics (wiki) -
Ointments for Small Cuts -
Honey -
Phage
New class of antibiotics active against a wide range of bacteria.
Dual-acting immuno-antibiotics block an essential pathway in bacteria and
activate the adaptive immune response. Scientists have discovered a new
class of compounds that uniquely combine direct antibiotic killing of pan
drug-resistant bacterial pathogens with a simultaneous rapid immune
response for combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Newly engineered versions of bacterial enzyme reveal how antibiotics could
be more potent. Researchers applied a new technology to generate the
full inventory of mutations in the bacterial species Escherichia coli
where the antibiotic rifampicin attaches to and disables an essential
bacterial enzyme known as RNA polymerase (RNAP). Modern medicine depends
on antibiotics to treat infections by disabling targets inside bacterial
cells. Once inside these cells, antibiotics bind to certain sites on
specific enzyme targets to stop bacterial growth. Randomly occurring
changes (mutations) in the genes for these targets occur naturally, in
some cases making the target harder for the antibiotic to attach to, and
that bacterial version resistant to treatment.
Antibiotic Resistance Genes are often located on plasmids or
transposons and can be transferred from cell to cell by conjugation,
transformation, or transduction. This gene exchange allows the resistance
to rapidly spread throughout a population of bacteria and among different
species of bacteria. ARGs are mobile genetic elements that can pass
between microorganisms via horizontal gene transfer, even from dead to
living cell.
Antimicrobial Resistance happens when germs like bacteria and fungi
develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.
Antimicrobial resistance does not mean our body is resistant to
antibiotics or antifungals.
Antimicrobial is an agent that
kills
microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can
be grouped according to the
microorganisms they act primarily against.
Antibiotics are used against
bacteria, and
antifungals are used
against
fungi. They can also be
classified according to their function. Agents that kill microbes are
microbicides, while those
that merely inhibit their growth are called bacteriostatic agents. The use
of antimicrobial medicines to treat infection is known as antimicrobial
chemotherapy, while the use of antimicrobial medicines to prevent
infection is known as antimicrobial prophylaxis.
Hydrolytic antimicrobial enzymes function by degrading key
structural components of the cell walls of bacteria and/or fungi, whereas
antimicrobial oxidoreductases exert their
effects by the generation in situ of reactive molecules.
Antimicrobial Resistance
-
Super Bugs -
Human Microbes -
Antibodies
Antibacterial is an agent that
interferes
with the growth and reproduction of bacteria. While antibiotics and antibacterials both attack bacteria, these terms have evolved over the
years to mean two different things.
New model for antibacterial mechanism. Biologists have discovered an
aberrant protein that's deadly to bacteria. This erroneously built protein
mimics the action of
aminoglycosides, a class of antibiotics. The newly discovered protein
could serve as a model to help scientists unravel details of those drugs'
lethal effects on bacteria -- and potentially point the way to future
antibiotics.
Disinfectant -
Hand Washing
Synthesised Antibiotic is Capable of Treating Superbugs. Drug version
is based on
teixobactin, which is a
natural antibiotic discovered by US scientists in soil samples in
2015, could help in the battle against antibiotic resistant pathogens such
as MRSA and VRE.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus -
Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci.
Vancomycin is an
antibiotic used to treat a number of bacterial infections. Vancomycin is
made by the soil bacterium
Amycolatopsis orientalis. Fights bacteria in three different ways.
Viruses
-
Infections
Pregnant women produce super antibodies to protect newborns, now
scientists know how. During
pregnancy, a subtle molecular change allows
immunoglobulin G -- the body's most common type of antibody -- to take
on an expanded protective role. Now scientists say this natural process
can be replicated to improve vaccines and other antibody-based treatments.
Scientists discovered years ago that
newborn infants depend
upon immune components transferred from their mothers to survive the
onslaught of pathogens that begin invading their bodies as soon as they
are born. Eventually, children develop their own immune systems, built
through surviving natural exposures to viruses and bacteria, and augmented
by a phalanx of well-established childhood vaccines. But in the meantime,
it's one of a mother's most important gifts that keeps their babies safe:
antibodies.
8,000 New Antibiotic Combinations are surprisingly effective. Grouping
4 or 5 existing medications could help slow antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Antimicrobial use in agriculture can breed bacteria resistant to
first-line human defenses. A new study has shown that overuse of
antimicrobials in
livestock
production can drive the evolution of bacteria more resistant to the
first line of the human immune response. Bacteria that had evolved
resistance to colistin, an antimicrobial widely used in
farming, also showed resistance to
compounds that are key components of human and animal immune systems. The
results indicate that farmed pigs and chickens could harbour large
reservoirs of cross-resistant bacteria, capable of fuelling future
epidemics.
Drug-resistant infections are
one of the most serious threats to global health, and there is an urgent
need to develop new, effective antimicrobials. One promising solution
could be antimicrobial peptides or AMPs. These are compounds naturally
produced by most living organisms, including animals, and have important
roles in innate immunity, our first line of defense against bacterial
infections.
Testing antibiotic resistance with a fast, cheap, and easy method.
Researchers have developed a novel and highly efficient method for rapid
antibiotic susceptibility testing using optical microscopy. The technique,
called Optical Nanomotion Detection, is extremely rapid, single-cell
sensitive, label-free, and requires only a basic traditional optical
microscope, equipped with a camera or a mobile phone. Antibiotic
sensitivity testing (AST) uses culture methods that expose bacteria to
antibiotics, or genetic methods to determine if bacteria possesses genes
that confer resistance. We have developed a technique in our laboratories
that allows us to obtain an antibiogram within 2-4 hours -- instead of the
current 24 hours for the most common germs and one month for tuberculosis.
The new technique is called optical nanomotion detection (ONMD), and
involves the monitoring of nanoscale vibrations of single bacterial before
and while being exposed to antibiotics. The monitoring is performed with a
basic optical microscope, a video camera or a
mobile phone.
Artificial Cells are Tiny Bacteria Fighters. Artificial cells mimic
the essential features of live cells, but are short-lived and cannot
divide to reproduce themselves. The cells were designed to respond to a
unique chemical signature on E. coli bacteria. They were able to detect,
attack and destroy the bacteria in laboratory experiments.
Bacteriophage is
a
virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea.
Bacteriophages are composed of proteins that encapsulate a DNA or RNA
genome, and may have structures that are either simple or elaborate. Their
genomes may encode as few as four genes and as many as hundreds of genes.
Phage is a virus that is parasitic and
reproduces itself in bacteria.
Phages replicate within the
bacterium
following the injection of their genome into its cytoplasm. Bacteriophages
are among the most common and diverse entities in the biosphere.
Bacteriophages are ubiquitous viruses, found wherever bacteria exist. It
is estimated
there are more than 10*31 bacteriophages on the planet, more
than every other organism on Earth, including bacteria, combined. One of
the densest natural sources for phages and other viruses is seawater,
where up to 9x108 virions per millilitre have been found in microbial mats
at the surface, and up to 70% of marine bacteria may be infected by
phages.
Phages have been used for more than 90 years as an alternative to
antibiotics in the former Soviet Union and Central Europe, as well as in
France. They are seen as a possible therapy against multi-drug-resistant
strains of many bacteria (see phage therapy). Phages of Inoviridae have
been shown to complicate biofilms involved in pneumonia and cystic
fibrosis and to shelter the bacteria from drugs meant to eradicate
disease, thus promoting persistent infection.
Phage Therapy is the therapeutic use of
bacteriophages to treat
pathogenic bacterial infections. Phage therapy has many potential
applications in human medicine as well as dentistry, veterinary science,
and agriculture. If the target host of a phage therapy treatment is not an
animal, the term "biocontrol" (as in phage-mediated biocontrol of
bacteria) is usually employed, rather than "phage therapy". Bacteriophages
are much more specific than antibiotics. They are typically harmless not
only to the host organism, but also to other beneficial bacteria, such as
the gut flora, reducing the chances of opportunistic infections. They have
a high therapeutic index, that is, phage therapy would be expected to give
rise to few side effects. Because phages replicate in vivo, a smaller
effective dose can be used. On the other hand, this specificity is also a
disadvantage:
a phage will only kill a bacterium if it is a match to the
specific strain. Consequently, phage mixtures are often applied to improve
the chances of success, or samples can be taken and an appropriate
phage identified and grown. Phages tend to be more successful than
antibiotics where there is a biofilm covered by a polysaccharide layer,
which antibiotics typically cannot penetrate. In the West, no therapies
are currently authorized for use on humans, although phages for killing
food poisoning bacteria (Listeria) are now in use.
Phages are currently
being used therapeutically to treat bacterial infections that do not
respond to conventional antibiotics, particularly in Russia and Georgia.
There is also a phage therapy unit in Wrocław, Poland, established 2005,
the only such centre in a European Union country. Antibiotics were
pushed more than Phage therapy because of
corporate monopolies at
peoples expense.
Macrophage are a type of
white blood cell, of
the
immune system, that engulfs and
digests cellular debris, foreign substances, microbes, cancer cells, and
anything else that does not have the type of proteins specific to healthy
body cells on its surface in a process called phagocytosis. These large
phagocytes are found in essentially all tissues, where they patrol for
potential pathogens by amoeboid movement.
Peering into the secrets of phages to see how they kill bacterial
superbugs. We saw how the building blocks of the particle interlock in
an intricate choreography. At a molecular level, arms swing out and curl
around each other forming a continuous chain that braces the head of the
phage. This rigid chainmail provides further protection to the DNA of the
phage. Surprisingly, the tail on the other hand remains flexible. It's
able to bend and not break as it captures the bacteria and ultimately
injects them with the phage DNA. Phages are a class of viruses that infect
bacteria, and each phage is specific for the species of bacteria it can
kill. Phages can be purified to a point of being FDA-approved for
treatment of people with bacterial infections, and documented success has
been had in the USA, Europe and, recently, Australia.
A new multipurpose on-off switch for inhibiting bacterial growth.
Researchers have discovered an antitoxin mechanism that seems to be able
to neutralize hundreds of different toxins and may protect bacteria
against virus attacks. The mechanism has been named Panacea, after the
Greek goddess of medicine whose name has become synonymous with universal
cure. The understanding of bacterial toxin and antitoxin mechanisms will
be crucial for the future success of so-called phage therapy for the
treatment of antibiotic resistance infections, the researchers say.
New research moves closer to harnessing viruses to fight bacteria and
reduce antibiotic use. A new study has cast new light on how to best
combine antibiotics and phage therapy. Researchers conducted laboratory
experiments on Pseudomonas aeruginosa a bacterium which causes disease in
immunocompromised and cystic fibrosis
patients. They exposed the bacterium to eight types of antibiotics -- and
found differences in the mechanisms by which the bacteria evolve
resistance to phages, which affect how harmful they are.
Linezolid is an antibiotic used for the
treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria that are
resistant to other antibiotics.
Daptomycin is a lipopeptide antibiotic
used in the treatment of systemic and life-threatening infections caused
by Gram-positive organisms.
Immune System
Antimicrobial Resistance is the ability
of a microbe to resist the effects of medication previously used to treat
them.
Timing is key for bacteria surviving antibiotics. Researchers found
that cells that repaired DNA damaged by antibiotics before resuming
growth had a much better chance of surviving treatment.
Carbapenem resistant enterobacteriaceae
are Gram-negative bacteria that are resistant to the carbapenem class of
antibiotics, considered the drugs of last resort for such infections.
Klebsiella pneumoniae is a
Gram-negative, nonmotile, encapsulated, lactose-fermenting, facultative
anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium. It appears as a mucoid lactose fermenter
on MacConkey agar.
New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 is an
enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of beta-lactam
antibiotics. These include the antibiotics of the carbapenem family, which
are a mainstay for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial
infections.
Maryn Mckenna what do we do when
antibiotics don't work any more? (video and interactive text)
Using
rank order to identify complex genetic interactions. Ranking pathogen
mutants can help scientists understand how mutants evolve to resist drug treatments.
Nudging Guideline-Concordant Antibiotic
Prescribing
Nudging physician prescription decisions by
partitioning the order set: results of a
vignette-based study.
Effect of Behavioral Interventions on
Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing Among
Primary Care Practices.
Supercharged Antibiotics could turn tide against Superbugs by
modifying vancomycin’s membrane-binding properties to selectively bind to
bacterial membranes rather than those of human cells, creating a series of
supercharged vancomycin derivatives called vancapticins.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria –
Superbugs cause
700,000 deaths worldwide each year, and a UK government review
has predicted this could rise to 10 million by 2050.
Strontium
Titanate is an oxide of strontium and titanium with the chemical
formula SrTiO3. (neodymium titanate).
A new group of antibiotics with a unique approach to attacking bacteria
has been discovered. The newly-found
corbomycin and the lesser-known
complestatin have a never-before-seen way to kill bacteria, which is
achieved by blocking the function of the bacterial cell wall. The
discovery comes from a family of antibiotics called
glycopeptides that are produced by soil bacteria. The researchers also
demonstrated in mice that these new antibiotics can block infections
caused by the drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus which is a group of
bacteria that can cause many serious infections. Antibiotics like
penicillin kill bacteria by preventing building of the wall, but the
antibiotics that we found actually work by doing the opposite -- they
prevent the wall from being broken down. This is critical for cell to
divide. In order for a cell to grow, it has to divide and expand. If you
completely block the breakdown of the wall, it is like it is trapped in a
prison, and can't expand or grow.
Antibiotic consumption is currently not the main driver of aminoglycoside
resistance spread, study suggests. Drug resistance to aminoglycosides,
a class of antibiotics, may be driven more by
exchanges between
ecosystems than by drug consumption. The spread of antibiotic
resistance, where infectious bacteria are able to defeat the drugs
intended to kill them, may not be primarily driven by antibiotic
consumption, according to a new study.
New antibiotic cures superbugs without bacterial resistance. In a
potential game changer for the treatment of superbugs, a new class of
antibiotics was developed that cured mice infected with bacteria deemed
nearly 'untreatable' in humans -- and resistance to the drug was virtually
undetectable.
M Protein in Streptococcus is a virulence factor that can be produced
by certain species of Streptococcus. Viruses, parasites and bacteria are
covered in protein and sugar molecules that help them gain entry into a
host by counteracting the host's defences. One such molecule is the M
protein produced by certain streptococcal bacteria. M proteins embody a
motif that is now known to be shared by many Gram-positive bacterial
surface proteins. The motif includes a conserved pentapeptide LPXTG, which
precedes a hydrophobic C-terminal membrane anchor, which itself precedes a
cluster of basic residues. Strep's M protein alone wipes out macrophages,
but not other types of immune cells. The macrophages' self-sacrifice
serves as an early warning of infection to the rest of the
immune system.
White Blood Cells.
Neurodegeneration is the progressive loss of structure or
function of
neurons, including
death of neurons. (Ly6Chi cells).
Antibodies linked to heart attacks. Levels of antiphospholipid
antibodies, which are associated with rheumatic diseases, are also
elevated in myocardial infarction without any autoimmune co-morbidity.
Antiphospholipid Syndrome is an
autoimmune, hypercoagulable state caused by antiphospholipid
antibodies. APS provokes blood clots (thrombosis) in both arteries and
veins as well as pregnancy-related complications such as miscarriage,
stillbirth, preterm delivery, and severe preeclampsia.Antiphospholipid
syndrome can be primary or secondary. Primary antiphospholipid syndrome
occurs in the absence of any other related disease. Secondary
antiphospholipid syndrome occurs with other autoimmune diseases, such as
systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In rare cases, APS leads to rapid
organ failure due to generalised thrombosis; this is termed "catastrophic
antiphospholipid syndrome" (CAPS or Asherson syndrome) and is associated
with a high risk of death.
Body Burden.
Frequent use of antimicrobial drugs in early life shifts bacterial
profiles in saliva. The strongest associations were presented with
azithromycin that is used for example to middle ear infections, strep
throat and pneumonia. The human microbiota plays an important role in
health and well-being by assisting in digestion, producing nutrients,
resisting invading pathogens and regulating metabolism and the immune
system. We use antimicrobial (AM) drugs to treat common infections even
though they have an immediate effect on microbial diversity and
composition.
Antibiotics that kill gut bacteria also stop growth of new brain cells.
A type of
white blood cell seems to act as a communicator between the
brain, the immune system, and the gut.
Resistance to Antibiotics - Super Bugs
Super Bugs or
antimicrobial resistance, is the ability of a microbe to
resist the effects of medication that once could successfully treat the
microbe. The term antibiotic resistance (AR or ABR) is a subset of AMR, as
it applies only to
bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics. Resistant
microbes are more difficult to treat, requiring alternative medications or
higher
doses of antimicrobials. These approaches may be more expensive,
more toxic or both. Microbes resistant to multiple antimicrobials are
called multidrug resistant (MDR). Those considered extensively drug
resistant (XDR) or totally drug resistant (TDR) are sometimes called
"superbugs". Resistance arises through one of three mechanisms: natural
resistance in certain types of bacteria, genetic mutation, or by one
species acquiring resistance from another. All classes of microbes can
develop resistance. Fungi develop antifungal resistance.
Viruses develop
antiviral resistance. Protozoa develop antiprotozoal resistance, and
bacteria develop antibiotic resistance. Resistance can appear
spontaneously because of random mutations. However, extended use of
antimicrobials appears to encourage mutations which can render
antimicrobials ineffective. Preventive measures include only using
antibiotics when needed, thereby stopping misuse of antibiotics or
antimicrobials. Narrow-spectrum antibiotics are preferred over
broad-spectrum
antibiotics when possible, as effectively and accurately
targeting specific organisms is less likely to cause resistance. For
people who take these medications at home, education about proper use is
essential. Health care providers can minimize spread of resistant
infections by use of proper sanitation and hygiene, including
hand washing and disinfecting between patients,
and should encourage the same of the patient, visitors, and family
members. Rising drug resistance is caused mainly by use of antimicrobials
in humans and other animals, and spread of resistant strains between the
two. Growing resistance has also been linked to dumping of inadequately
treated effluents from the pharmaceutical industry, especially in
countries where bulk drugs are manufactured.
Antibiotics increase selective pressure in bacterial populations,
causing vulnerable bacteria to die; this increases the percentage of
resistant bacteria which continue growing. Even at very low levels of
antibiotic, resistant bacteria can have a growth advantage and grow faster
than vulnerable bacteria. With resistance to antibiotics becoming more
common there is greater need for alternative treatments. Calls for new
antibiotic therapies have been issued, but new drug development is
becoming rarer. Antimicrobial resistance is increasing globally because of
greater access to antibiotic drugs in developing countries. Estimates are
that
700,000 to several million deaths result per year. Each year in the
United States, at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria
that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die as a
result. There are public calls for global collective action to address the
threat that include proposals for international treaties on antimicrobial
resistance. Worldwide antibiotic resistance is not completely identified,
but poorer countries with weaker healthcare systems are more affected.
Bacteria Resistant to Antibiotics.
Drug-Resistant Bacteria — also known as
superbugs — are on the rise globally, and they're now killing more people
each year than either HIV/AIDS or malaria. In 2019 drug resistant
infections directly
killed 1.2 million people
and played a role in 5 million more deaths worldwide. Deadly new strains
of bacteria are causing untreatable blood infections, fatal pneumonia,
relentless urinary tract infections, gangrenous wounds and terminal cases
of sepsis, among other conditions. Antibiotic resistance are the highest
in sub-Saharan Africa, causing 24 deaths per 100,000 population compared
to an average fatality rate of 13 per 100,000 in high income countries.
Australia has the lowest mortality rate globally from antibiotic
resistance at 6 deaths per 100,000.antibiotics are often readily available
to anyone without a prescription. Misuse and overuse of these fuels
mutations in bacteria, leading to more resistance. The systems to flag and
test for potentially drug resistant infections are not as robust as in
some wealthier countries. While some new more powerful antibiotics are
being developed, lower-income countries are still dependent on older,
cheaper, less effective drugs. There was a lot of antibiotic use during
the pandemic. More than 70, 80% of [COVID] patients that arrived to the
hospital were already using antibiotics at home. But antibiotics target
bacteria and wouldn't be of much help against a coronavirus.
Superbug impact on the Gut. Bacterial superbug
Clostridioides difficile hijacks the human wound healing system in
order to cause serious and persistent disease, opening up the development
of new therapies to treat the disease.
Antibiotics Resistance: researchers succeed to block genes of resistance.
One of the ways antibiotic resistance genes spread in hospitals and in the
environment is that the genes are coded on plasmids that transfer between
bacteria. A plasmid is a DNA fragment found in bacteria or yeasts. It
carries genes useful for bacteria, especially when these genes encode
proteins that can make bacteria resistant to antibiotics researchers
screened a library of small chemical molecules for those that bind to the
TraE protein, an essential component of the plasmid transfer machinery.
Analysis by X-ray crystallography revealed the exact binding site of these
molecules on TraE. Having precise information on the binding site enabled
the researchers to design more potent binding molecules that, in the end,
reduced the transfer of antibiotic-resistant, gene-carrying plasmids.
Germs with unusual Antibiotic Resistance widespread in U.S. More than
23,000 Americans die each year from infections caused by germs resistant
to antibiotics.
Answer to Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance may be found in Plants.
Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs). PSMs are highly diverse, with more
than 12,000 alkaloids, 8,000 phenolic compounds, and 25,000 terpenoids
currently known.
Polyamine both inhibits the
MRSA superbug and renders it more vulnerable to antibiotics.
Antibiotic Resistance in Food Animals nearly tripled since 2000.
Meat production accounts for 73% of global
antibiotic use. Between 2000 and 2018, the proportion of
antibiotics showing rates of resistance above 50% in developing countries
increased in chickens from 0.15 to 0.41 and in pigs from 0.13 to 0.34, the
researchers reported. This means that antibiotics that could be used for
treatment failed more than half the time in 40 percent of chickens and
one-third of pigs raised for human consumption.
Infectious Bacteria Hibernate to Evade Antibiotics, instead of
developing antibiotic resistant variants, an enzyme in dormant
bacteria is responsible for catalyzing hibernation, which allows the
bacteria to avoid being attacked. Antibiotics usually target a bacteria
cell's ability to grow, which means that a hibernating bacterium is exempt
from attack.
Research advances knowledge of the battle between viruses and human cells.
Discovery of protective RNA mechanism informs pursuit to develop
anti-viral drugs. n the long-term battle between a herpesvirus and its
human host, a virologist and her team of students have identified some
human RNA able to resist the viral takeover -- and the mechanism by which
that occurs. Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)
hides for years inside the human body
before seeking to gain control over human gene expression to complete the
viral infection. At that point, people with a weakened immune system may
develop Kaposi sarcoma cancer lesions in the mouth, skin or other organs.
We show that RNA that escape have a chemical tag on them -- a
post-transcriptional modification -- that makes them different from the
others. By having this tag, M6A, they can recruit proteins that protect
them from degradation.
Chromosome architecture constrains horizontal gene transfer in bacteria,
may be the key for holding the line against the global threat of
increasing
antibiotic resistance.
Superbugs jumping frequently between Humans and Animals. In a recent
study, researchers found that cows are a source of resistant
staphylococcus strains causing infections in humans today.
Antimicrobial resistance is drastically rising. Researchers have shown
that antimicrobial-resistant infections are rapidly increasing in animals
in low and middle income countries. They produced the first global of
resistance rates, and identified regions where interventions are urgently
needed.
Cause of antibiotic resistance identified. Bacteria can lose its cell
wall—the common target of many groups of antibiotics. Bacteria are able to
change from a highly regular walled form to a completely random, cell
wall-deficient L-form state- in effect, shedding the yellow jacket and
hiding it inside themselves. In this form the body can't easily recognize
the bacteria so doesn't attack them—and neither do antibiotics.
L-form Bacteria are strains of bacteria that lack cell walls.
Low Antibiotic Concentration in the Environment enough to increase
Antimicrobial Resistance in Laboratory Conditions.
Deadly 'Superbugs' Destroyed by Molecular Drills.
Motorized molecules activated by
light target and drill through highly antibiotic resistant bacteria and
kill them within minutes. The molecules can open bacteria to attack by
drugs they previously resisted. The strategy could be applied to bacterial
infections or diseases on the skin, in the lungs or in the
gastrointestinal tract.
Signs of Bacteria already in the Bovine Fetus.
Physicists pinpoint a simple mechanism that makes bacteria resistant to
antibiotics. Researchers examined how the membranes of bacteria
interacted with the antibiotic polymyxin B (PmB), which is commonly used
to treat
urinary tract infections, meningitis,
blood and eye infections.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus refers to a group of
gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of
Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat
infections in humans. MRSA is any strain of S. aureus that has developed,
through horizontal gene transfer and natural selection, multiple drug
resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics. β-lactam antibiotics are a broad
spectrum group which includes some penams – penicillin derivatives such as
methicillin and oxacillin, and cephems such as the cephalosporins. Strains
unable to resist these antibiotics are classified as
methicillin-susceptible S. aureus, or MSSA. MRSA is common in hospitals,
prisons, and nursing homes, where people with open wounds, invasive
devices such as catheters, and weakened immune systems are at greater risk
of hospital-acquired infection. MRSA began as a hospital-acquired
infection, but has become community-acquired as well as
livestock-acquired. The terms HA-MRSA (healthcare-associated or
hospital-acquired MRSA), CA-MRSA (community-associated MRSA) and LA-MRSA
(livestock-associated) reflect this.
Staphylococcus Aureus is a Gram-positive, round-shaped bacterium that
is a member of the Firmicutes, and it is a usual member of the microbiota
of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the
skin.
Gram-Positive Bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the
Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria
into two broad categories according to their cell wall.
Gram
Stain is a method of staining used to distinguish and classify
bacterial species into two large groups (Gram-positive and
Gram-negative, which are bacteria that do not retain the crystal
violet stain used in the gram-staining method of bacterial
differentiation. Gram-negative bacteria are found everywhere, in virtually
all environments on Earth that support life.
Atomic structure of a staphylococcal bacteriophage using cryo-electron
microscopy. Cryo-electron
microscopy has exposed the structure of a bacterial virus with
unprecedented detail. This is the first structure of a virus able to
infect Staphylococcus epidermidis, and high-resolution knowledge of
structure is a key link between viral biology and potential therapeutic
use of the virus to quell bacterial infections.
Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus are bacterial strains of the genus
Enterococcus that are resistant to the antibiotic vancomycin.
Antimicrobial Chemical Triclosan tied to antibiotic resistance genes
in dust and linked to changes in its genetic makeup. The result is dust
with organisms that could cause an antibiotic-resistant infection.
Triclosan is an
antibacterial and antifungal agent present in some consumer products,
including toothpaste, soaps, detergents, toys, and surgical cleaning
treatments. It is similar in its uses and mechanism of action to
triclocarban. Its efficacy as an antimicrobial agent, the risk of
antimicrobial resistance, and its possible role in disrupted hormonal
development remains controversial. Additional research seeks to understand
its potential effects on organisms and environmental health. Triclosan
was developed in the 1960s. In September 2016, the FDA announced that
effective September 2017, it would prohibit the sale of "consumer
antiseptic washes" containing triclosan or 18 other ingredients marketed
as antimicrobials due to FDA findings of the lack of efficacy in these
products.
Plant Secondary Metabolism produces a large number of specialized
compounds (estimated 200,000) that do not aid in the growth and
development of plants but are required for the plant to survive in its
environment. Secondary metabolism is connected to primary metabolism by
using building blocks and biosynthetic enzymes derived from primary
metabolism. Primary metabolism governs all basic physiological processes
that allow a plant to grow and set seeds, by translating the genetic code
into proteins, carbohydrates, and amino acids. Specialized compounds from
secondary metabolism are essential for communicating with other organisms
in mutualistic (e.g. attraction of beneficial organisms such as
pollinators) or antagonistic interactions (e.g. deterrent against
herbivores and pathogens). They further assist in coping with abiotic
stress such as increased UV-radiation. The broad functional spectrum of
specialized metabolism is still not fully understood. In any case, a good
balance between products of primary and secondary metabolism is best for a
plant’s optimal growth and development as well as for its effective coping
with often changing environmental conditions. Well known specialized
compounds include alkaloids, polyphenols including flavonoids, and
terpenoids. Humans use quite a lot of these compounds, or the plants from
which they originate, for medicinal and nutraceutical purposes.
Chaos-inducing genetic approach stymies antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
A genetic disruption strategy developed by University of Colorado Boulder
researchers effectively stymies the evolution of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria such as E. coli, giving scientists a crucial leg up in the
ongoing battle against deadly superbugs. These multidrug-resistant
pathogens -- which adapt to current antibiotics faster than new ones can
be created -- infect nearly 2 million people and cause at least 23,000
deaths annually in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for
Disease Control. In an effort to develop a sustainable long-term solution,
CU Boulder researchers created the Controlled Hindrance of Adaptation of
OrganismS (CHAOS) approach, which uses CRISPR DNA editing techniques to
modify multiple gene expressions within the bacteria cells, stunting the
pathogen's central processes and thwarting its ability to evolve defenses.
How Fatal Biofilms Form. The formation of organized communities of
bacterial cells known as biofilms can be deadly
during surgeries By severely curtailing the effects of
antibiotics and in
urinary tract infections. Researchers have just come a lot closer to
understanding how these biofilms develop, and potentially how to stop
them.
Biofilm
comprises any syntrophic consortium of
microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often also to a
surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy extracellular
matrix that is composed of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The
cells within the biofilm produce the EPS components, which are typically a
polymeric conglomeration of extracellular polysaccharides, proteins,
lipids and
DNA. Because they have three-dimensional
structure and represent a community lifestyle for microorganisms, they
have been metaphorically described as "cities for microbes". Biofilms may
form on living or non-living surfaces and can be prevalent in natural,
industrial and hospital settings. The microbial cells growing in a biofilm
are physiologically distinct from planktonic cells of the same organism,
which, by contrast, are single-cells that may float or swim in a liquid
medium. Biofilms can form on the
teeth of most
animals as dental plaque, where they may cause tooth decay and gum
disease. Microbes form a biofilm in response to various different factors,
which may include cellular recognition of specific or non-specific
attachment sites on a surface, nutritional cues, or in some cases, by
exposure of planktonic cells to sub-inhibitory concentrations of
antibiotics. A cell that switches to the
biofilm mode of growth undergoes a phenotypic shift in behavior in which
large suites of genes are differentially regulated. A biofilm may also be
considered a hydrogel, which is a complex polymer that contains many times
its dry weight in water. Biofilms are not just bacterial slime layers but
biological systems; the bacteria
organize themselves into a coordinated functional community. Biofilms can
attach to a surface such as a tooth, rock, or surface, and may include a
single species or a diverse group of microorganisms. The biofilm bacteria
can share nutrients and are sheltered from harmful factors in the
environment, such as desiccation, antibiotics, and a host body's immune
system. A biofilm usually begins to form when a free-swimming bacterium attaches to a surface.
Superbug killer: New nanotech destroys bacteria and fungal cells.
Nanothin antimicrobial coating could prevent and treat potentially deadly
infections. A new dual bug killer is one of the thinnest antimicrobial
coatings to date. The coating works by tearing bacteria and fungal cells
apart, offering a smart solution to the twin global health threats of
drug-resistant bacterial and fungal infections.
Paleopharmaceuticals from Baltic amber might fight drug-resistant
infections. For centuries, people in Baltic nations have used ancient
amber for medicinal purposes. Even today, infants are given amber
necklaces that they chew to relieve teething pain, and people put
pulverized amber in elixirs and ointments for its purported beneficial
properties. Now, scientists have pinpointed compounds that help explain
Baltic amber's therapeutic effects and that could lead to new medicines to
combat antibiotic-resistant infections. Each year in the U.S., at least
2.8 million people get antibiotic-resistant
infections, leading to 35,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
Colds - Flu - Viruses
Virus is a small
infectious agent that replicates only inside the living
cells of other
organisms. Viruses can infect all
types of life forms, from animals and plants to
microorganisms, including
bacteria and archaea. A virus can not replicate on
its own, but bacteria can.
Pathogen is any
disease-producing agent, especially a virus,
bacterium or other microorganism.
Colds -
Coughing -
Sneezing -
Allergies -
Flu
-
Pneumonia -
Influenza -
Bacteria
-
Viral Load -
Interferon
-
Mucus -
Infections Colds aren't caused by a single virus.
So creating a vaccine to prevent the common cold has been difficult to
make, primarily because there are more than
200 different varieties of
viruses that can cause colds, including
adenoviruses,
coronaviruses,
parainfluenza, and rhinoviruses. Rhinoviruses are to blame for up to
50% of all common colds. But of these rhinoviruses, there are more than
150 strains circulating at any one time.
Millions
of cases of the common cold are reported across the United States each
year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC
estimates that the average adult catches at least two colds every year and
that children can get up to 10. On the upside, colds are self-limiting and
will go away on their own, typically within a week. Boost your body's
natural resistance by
eating well,
getting
adequate sleep, not
smoking, and
drinking plenty
of water every day.
Rhinovirus is the
most common viral infectious
agent in humans and is the predominant cause of the common cold.
Rhinovirus infection proliferates in temperatures of 33–35 °C (91–95 °F),
the temperatures found in the nose. Rhinoviruses belong to the genus
Enterovirus in the family Picornaviridae. The three species of rhinovirus
(A, B, and C) include around 160 recognized types of human rhinovirus that
differ according to their surface proteins or
serotypes. They are lytic in
nature and are among the smallest viruses, with diameters of about
30
nanometers. By comparison, other viruses, such as smallpox and vaccinia,
are around ten times larger at about 300 nanometers; while flu viruses are
around 80–120 nm.
Why Do Viruses
Kill? - BBC - Archaea - Horizon (youtube)
Virology is the study of viruses –
submicroscopic,
parasitic particles of genetic material contained in a
protein coat – and virus-like agents. It focuses on the following aspects
of viruses: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to
infect and exploit host cells for reproduction, their interaction with
host organism physiology and
immunity, the diseases they cause, the
techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and
therapy. Virology is considered to be a subfield of
microbiology or of
medicine.
Contagious -
Wash
Hands -
Symptoms
The Lung Microbiome, Immunity and the Pathogenesis of Chronic Lung Disease.
Respiratory microbiome may influence your susceptibility to flu.
Microbiome community linked to lower influenza susceptibility.
Human Virome is the collection of
viruses in and on the human body. Defining the virome is thought to
provide an understanding of
microbes
and how they affect human health and disease. Viruses in the human body
infect both human cells as well as other microbes such as bacteria.
Human Microbiome.
Virosphere is a list of all the known
viruses.
Hundreds of thousands of viruses in oceans. The oceans contain almost
200,000 different viral populations, according to the latest count.
1,445 viruses have been discovered in the most populous animals.
Thousands of unknown viruses hide in the DNA of unicellular organisms.
Stowaways in the genome. Scientists have discovered over 30,000 viruses
by using the high-performance computer cluster 'Leo' and sophisticated
detective work. The viruses hide in the DNA of unicellular organisms. In
some cases, up to 10% of microbial DNA consists of built-in viruses.
LEO3 is a high performance compute cluster of the Research Area
Scientific Computing at the University of Innsbruck in operation since
September 2011. It consists of 1944 Intel Xeon (Gulftown) compute cores
and is equipped with 24GB RAM per node, i.e., about 4TB of main memory
altogether. The nodes and GPFS storage system are joined by a 40Gb/s
Infiniband high speed interconnect. In addition, three of the nodes are
equipped with NVidia Tesla M2090 graphics cards and 48 GB of main memory.
Biologists Discover How Viruses Hijack Cell’s Machinery. -
Viral Infection
New vulnerability found in major human viruses. Discovery of a new
feature of a large class of pathogenic viruses may allow development of
new antiviral medications for the common cold, polio, and other illnesses,
according to a new study.
Picornaviruses include
rhinoviruses and enteroviruses. Rhinoviruses cause millions of cases of upper respiratory
infections ("colds") yearly and contribute to asthma, and enteroviruses
are responsible for millions of infections including cases such as
meningitis, encephalitis and polio. There are currently no antivirals that
can be used for the treatment or prevention of any of the rhino- or
enteroviruses.
Scientists confirm usually harmless virus attacks the heart's electrical
system.
Adenovirus, which typically can cause a common cold, has a far more
dangerous impact if it reaches the heart.
Viruses can steal our genetic code to create new human-virus genes. A
new study unveils a novel mechanism that allows viruses to produce
unexpected proteins. Like a scene out of "
Invasion of the Body Snatchers,"
a virus infects a host and converts it into a factory for making more
copies of itself. Now researchers have shown that a large group of
viruses, including the influenza viruses and other serious pathogens,
steal genetic signals from their hosts to expand their own genomes. The
cross-disciplinary team of virologists looked at a large group of viruses
known as segmented negative-strand RNA viruses (sNSVs), which include
widespread and serious pathogens of humans, domesticated animals and
plants, including the influenza viruses and Lassa virus (the cause of
Lassa fever). They showed that, by stealing genetic signals from their
hosts, viruses can produce a wealth of previously undetected proteins. The
researchers labeled them as UFO (Upstream Frankenstein Open reading frame)
proteins, as they are encoded by stitching together the host and viral
sequences. There was no knowledge of the existence of these kinds of
proteins prior to this study. These UFO proteins can alter the course of
viral infection and could be exploited for vaccine purposes. The capacity
of a pathogen to overcome host barriers and establish infection is based
on the expression of pathogen-derived proteins. To understand how a
pathogen antagonizes the host and establishes infection, we need to have a
clear understanding of what proteins a pathogen encodes, how they
function, and the manner in which they contribute to virulence. Viruses
cannot build their own proteins, so they need to feed suitable
instructions to the machinery that builds proteins in their host's cells.
Viruses are known to do this through a process called "cap-snatching," in
which they cut the end from one of the cell's own protein-encoding
messages (a messenger RNA, or mRNA) and then extend that sequence with a
copy of one of their own genes. This gives a hybrid message to be read.
Dormant is a condition of biological
rest or
suspended animation that is
temporally inactive but capable of
becoming active and awake.
Dormancy is a period in an organism's
life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical
activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and
therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. Dormancy tends to be
closely associated with environmental conditions. Organisms can
synchronize entry to a dormant phase with their environment through
predictive or consequential means. Predictive dormancy occurs when an
organism enters a dormant phase before the onset of adverse conditions.
For example, photoperiod and decreasing temperature are used by many
plants to predict the onset of winter. Consequential dormancy occurs when
organisms enter a dormant phase after adverse conditions have arisen. This
is commonly found in areas with an unpredictable climate. While very
sudden changes in conditions may lead to a high mortality rate among
animals relying on consequential dormancy, its use can be advantageous, as
organisms remain active longer and are therefore able to make greater use
of available resources.
Latent is
remaining in an inactive or hidden phase; dormant. Lying dormant or hidden
until circumstances are suitable for development or manifestation.
Virus Latency is the ability of a
pathogenic
virus to lie dormant (latent) within a cell, denoted as the
lysogenic part of the viral life cycle. A latent viral infection is a
type of persistent viral infection which is distinguished from a chronic
viral infection. Latency is the phase in certain viruses' life cycles in
which, after initial infection, proliferation of virus particles ceases.
However, the viral genome is not fully eradicated. The result of this is
that the virus can reactivate and begin producing large amounts of viral
progeny without the host being infected by new outside virus, denoted as
the lytic part of the viral life cycle, and stays within the host
indefinitely. Virus latency is not to be confused with clinical latency
during the incubation period when a virus is not dormant.
How some gut microbes awaken 'zombie' viruses in their neighbors.
Scientists have known for years that colibactin can wreak havoc on human
cells. In 2006, a French team reported that mammalian cells that
encountered the gut bacteria E. coli suffered fatal damage to their DNA.
The researchers linked this damage to a cluster of E. coli genes encoding
machinery for building a complex molecule. Dubbed colibactin, the molecule
was extraordinarily difficult to study. After many tries, researchers
simply couldn't isolate it from the E. coli making it.
Giant Viruses found on Greenland ice sheet. Viruses found on the
Greenland ice sheet probably regulate the growth of snow algae on the ice
by infecting them. Knowing how to control these viruses could help us
reduce the rate of ice-melt.
Lytic
Cycle is one of the two cycles of viral reproduction (referring to
bacterial viruses or bacteriophages), the other being the lysogenic cycle.
The lytic cycle results in the destruction of the infected cell and its
membrane. A key difference between the lytic and lysogenic phage cycles is
that in the lytic phage, the viral DNA exists as a separate molecule
within the bacterial cell, and replicates separately from the host
bacterial DNA. The location of viral DNA in the lysogenic phage cycle is
within the host DNA, therefore in both cases the virus/phage replicates
using the host DNA machinery, but in the lytic phage cycle, the phage is a
free floating separate molecule to the host DNA.
Viruses that kill Bacteria. A
bacteriophage is a virus that infects and replicates within a bacterium.
Phage
Therapy.
A Host-Produced Quorum-Sensing Autoinducer Controls a Phage Lysis-Lysogeny
Decision. When a virus infects bacteria, it's called a phage. When
VP882 entered salmonella in experiments, it could sense information
emitted from
bacteria. Bacterial cells communicate by producing and
releasing chemical signal molecules that other bacteria pick up, a process
called "quorum sensing." The communication lets them figure out how many
other bacteria are in the vicinity, allowing them to act as a group and
increase the power of disease-causing bacteria to do damage. So in a way,
the virus was "overhearing" bacterial conversations.
Biologists turn eavesdropping viruses into bacterial assassins.
Protein Transport Channel offers new Target for thwarting Pathogen
Gesundheit Machine is used to collect
samples of a virus from the breath that sick people exhale.
Antiviral Drug are a class of medication used specifically
for treating
viral infections rather than bacterial ones. Most antivirals
are used for specific viral infections, while a broad-spectrum antiviral
is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics,
antiviral drugs do not destroy their target pathogen; instead they inhibit their development.
By targeting flu-enabling protein, antibody may protect against
wide-ranging strains. The findings could lead to a universal flu
vaccine and more effective emergency treatments. The protein, located on
the surface of the virus, enables infected host cells to release the virus
so it can spread to other cells.
Tamiflu, the most widely used drug for severe flu infection, works by
inactivating
neuraminidase. However, many forms of neuraminidase exist, depending
on the
flu strain, and such drugs aren't always effective -- particularly
as resistance to the drugs is developing. Typically, anti-neuraminidase
antibodies can be broad within a subtype, like H1N1, but an antibody with
potent activity across subtypes was unheard of. At first, we did not
believe our results. Especially the ability of the antibodies to cross
between influenza A and influenza B viruses is just mind-boggling. It is
amazing what the human immune system is capable of if presented with the
right antigens. To find out whether the antibodies could be used to treat
severe cases of flu, Krammer and colleagues tested them in mice that were
given a lethal dose of influenza virus. All three antibodies were
effective against many strains, and one antibody, called "1G01," protected
against all 12 strains tested, which included all three groups of human
flu virus as well as avian and other nonhuman strains. "All the mice
survived, even if they were given the antibody 72 hours after infection,"
Ellebedy says. "They definitely got sick and lost weight, but we still
saved them. It was remarkable. It made us think that you might be able to
use this antibody in an intensive care scenario when you have someone sick
with flu and it's too late to use Tamiflu." Tamiflu must be administered
within 24 hours of symptoms. A drug that could be used later would help
many people diagnosed after the Tamiflu window has closed. But before the
researchers could even think of designing such a drug based on the
antibody, they needed to understand how it was interfering with
neuraminidase.
Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizers is a
group of experimental antiviral drugs under development at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
DRACOs May Be Effective Against All Viruses.
Some Viruses produce Insulin-Like Hormones that can Stimulate Human Cells
-- and have potential to cause disease. Scientists have identified four
viruses that can produce
insulin-like
hormones that are active on human cells. The discovery brings new
possibilities for revealing biological mechanisms that may cause diabetes
or cancer. Every cell in your body responds to the hormone insulin, and if
that process starts to fail, you get
diabetes.
Retrovirus is a type of
RNA virus that inserts a copy of its genome
into the
DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of
that cell. Such viruses are specifically classified as single-stranded
positive-sense
RNA viruses. Once inside the host cell's cytoplasm, the
virus uses its own reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its
RNA genome, the reverse of the usual pattern, thus retro (backwards). The
new
DNA is then incorporated into the host cell genome by an integrase
enzyme, at which point the retroviral DNA is referred to as a provirus.
The host cell then treats the viral DNA as part of its own genome,
transcribing and translating the viral genes along with the cell's own
genes, producing the proteins required to assemble new copies of the
virus. It is difficult to detect the virus until it has infected the host.
At that point, the infection will persist indefinitely.
Rotavirus is
the most common cause of
diarrhoeal disease
among infants and young children. The genome of a virus can be either
single stranded RNA (ssRNA), double
stranded RNA (dsRNA), single stranded DNA (ssDNA),
double stranded DNA ds(DNA), or a mix of ssDNA and dsDNA.
Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (wiki) -
HIV-1 (wiki) -
HIV-2 (wiki).
Norovirus is a
very contagious virus
that causes vomiting and
diarrhea. People of
all ages can get infected and sick with norovirus. Norovirus spreads
easily! People with norovirus illness can shed billions of norovirus
particles. And only a few virus particles can make other people sick.
Norovirus sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting bug, is the most
common cause of gastroenteritis. This usually develops 12 to 48 hours
after being exposed. Recovery typically occurs within 1 to 3 days.
Complications may include dehydration. The virus is usually spread by the
fecal–oral route. This may be by contaminated food or water or
person-to-person contact. It may also spread via contaminated surfaces or
through the air. Risk factors include unsanitary food preparation and
sharing close quarters. Diagnosis is generally based on symptoms.
Confirmatory testing may be done for public health purposes. Prevention
involves proper hand washing and disinfection of contaminated surfaces.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are less effective. A vaccine does not
exist. There is no specific treatment. Efforts involve supportive care
such as drinking sufficient fluids or intravenous fluids. Oral rehydration
solutions are the preferred fluids to drink, although other drinks without
caffeine or alcohol can help. Norovirus results in about 685 million cases
of disease and 200,000 deaths globally a year. It is common both in the
developed and developing world. Those under the age of five are most often
affected and in this group it results in about 50,000 deaths in the
developing world. Disease more commonly occurs in winter months. It often
occurs in outbreaks, especially among those living in close quarters. In
the United States, it is the cause of about half of foodborne disease
outbreaks. The disease is named after Norwalk, Ohio, where an outbreak
occurred in 1968.
Norovirus Evades Immune System by Hiding Out in Rare Gut Cells.
Noroviruses are the leading cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis in the
world and are estimated to cause 267 million infections and
20,000 deaths
each year. This virus causes severe
diarrhea,
nausea, and stomach pain.
Adenoviridae have more than 50 distinct adenoviral serotypes have been
found to cause a wide range of illnesses, from mild respiratory infections
in young children (
known as the common cold) to
life-threatening multi-organ disease in people with a weakened
immune system.
Zoonosis are infectious
diseases of
animals (usually vertebrates) that can naturally be
transmitted to humans.
Toxoplasma Gondii
is an obligate intracellular, parasitic alveolate that causes the disease
toxoplasmosis. Found worldwide, T. gondii is capable of infecting
virtually all warm-blooded animals, but felids such as domestic cats are
the only known definitive hosts in which the parasite can undergo sexual
reproduction.
Cytomegalovirus
is a genus of viruses in the order Herpesvirales, in the family
Herpesviridae, in the subfamily Betaherpesvirinae. Humans and monkeys
serve as natural hosts.
Human Metapneumovirus is a negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus of
the family Pneumoviridae and is closely related to the
Avian metapneumovirus subgroup C. As of 2016, it was the second most
common cause (after respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)) of acute
respiratory tract illness in otherwise-healthy children under the age of 5
in a large US outpatient clinic. It is likely that transmission occurs by
contact with contaminated secretions, via droplet, aerosol, or fomite
vectors. No treatment is yet known.
Chimps are dying of the common cold.
Ribavirin or tribavirin, is an antiviral medication used to treat RSV
infection, hepatitis C and some viral hemorrhagic fevers.
Parasitism is a
non-mutual relationship between
species, where one species, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the
other, the host.
Brain Eating Amoeba is a type of cell or
organism which has the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending
and retracting pseudopods.
Virulence Factor are molecules produced by
bacteria, viruses, fungi,
and protozoa that add to their effectiveness and enable them to achieve
the following: colonization of a niche in the host (this includes
attachment to cells). Immunoevasion, evasion of the host's immune
response. Immunosuppression, inhibition of the host's
immune response.
Entry into and exit out of cells (if the pathogen is an intracellular
one), Obtain nutrition from the host. Specific pathogens possess a wide
array of virulence factors. Some are chromosomally encoded and intrinsic
to the bacteria (e.g. capsules and endotoxin), whereas others are obtained
from mobile genetic elements like plasmids and bacteriophages (e.g. some
exotoxins). Virulence factors encoded on mobile genetic elements spread
through horizontal gene transfer, and can convert harmless bacteria into
dangerous pathogens. Bacteria like Escherichia coli O157:H7 gain the
majority of their virulence from mobile genetic elements. Gram-negative
bacteria secrete a variety of virulence factors at host-pathogen
interface, via membrane vesicle trafficking as bacterial outer membrane
vesicles for invasion, nutrition and other cell-cell communications. It
has been found that many pathogens have converged on similar virulence
factors to battle against eukaryotic host defenses. These obtained
bacterial virulence factors have two different routes used to help them
survive and grow: The factors are used to assist and promote colonization
of the host. These factors include adhesins, invasins, and antiphagocytic
factors. The factors, including toxins, hemolysins, and proteases, bring damage to the host.
Cold Weather and Freezing Temperatures affect the Body.
CRISPR protein might yield new tests for many viruses. All of the
previously known CRISPR immune systems protect bacteria by deactivating
genes from an invading virus. Now, a recently discovered CRISPR protein,
called Cas12a2, has been found to act as a kind of multi-purpose
self-destruct system for bacteria, capable of degrading single-stranded
RNA, single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA. This ability could lead
to a new approach to developing diagnostics for diseases such as COVID-19
and the flu. Using a high-resolution imaging technique called cryo-EM, the
team discovered that when this protein, named Cas12a2, binds to a specific
sequence of genetic material from a potentially dangerous virus, called a
target RNA, a side portion of Cas12a2 swings out to reveal an active site,
similar to a sprung-open switchblade knife. Then, the active site starts
to indiscriminately cut any genetic material it comes into contact with.
The researchers discovered that, with a single mutation to the Cas12a2
protein, the active site degrades only single-stranded DNA -- a feature
especially useful in developing new diagnostics tailored for any of a wide
range of viruses.
Simple nasal swab can provide early warning of emerging viruses.
Researchers have found that testing for the presence of a single immune
system molecule on nasal swabs can help detect stealthy viruses not
identified in standard tests.
Coronavirus - COVID-19 - SARS-CoV-2
Coronavirus Disease 2019 is an
infectious disease caused by severe
acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (
SARS-CoV-2). The disease was
first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has since spread globally,
resulting in the 2019–20 coronavirus
pandemic.
Common symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Muscle
pain, sputum production and sore throat are less common. While the
majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to severe
pneumonia and multi-organ failure.
20% show no
symptoms but are contagious. The rate of deaths per number of
diagnosed cases is on average 3.4%, ranging from 0.2% in those under 20,
to approximately 15% in those over 80 years old. Patients with preexisting
conditions, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular
disease, are most at risk and represent the vast majority of deaths. The
infection is typically spread from one person to another via
respiratory
droplets produced during coughing and sneezing.
Time from exposure to
onset of symptoms is generally between
2 and 14 days, with an average of
five days. The standard method of diagnosis is by reverse transcription
polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) from a
nasopharyngeal swab. The
infection can also be diagnosed from a combination of symptoms, risk
factors and a chest CT scan showing features of pneumonia. Recommended
measures to prevent infection include
frequent hand washing, maintaining
distance from others (
social distancing), and
keeping hands away from the
face. The use of
masks is recommended for those who suspect they have the
virus and their caregivers, but not the general public. There is no
vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for
COVID-19. Management involves
treatment of symptoms, supportive care, isolation, and experimental
measures. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019–20
coronavirus outbreak a pandemic and a Public Health Emergency of
International Concern (PHEIC). Evidence of local transmission of the
disease has been found in many countries across all six WHO regions.
Vaccines.
Coronavirus
COVID-19 Global Cases Map (Johns Hopkins University) -
WHO -
CDC -
Pandemic -
Containment
-
ncov2019.live -
Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count
-
COVID-19 School Response Dashboard.
Death
Rate or
Mortality Rate
is not the same as
Number of Deaths. Mortality
Rate or
Death Rate is a measure of the
number of deaths scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time.
Mortality Rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1,000
individuals per year.
Case Fatality Rate is the proportion of deaths from a certain disease
compared to the total number of people diagnosed with the disease for a
particular period. A CFR is conventionally expressed as a percentage and
represents a measure of disease severity. CFRs are most often used for
diseases with discrete, limited-time courses, such as outbreaks of acute
infections. A CFR can only be considered final when all the cases have
been resolved (either died or recovered). The preliminary CFR, for
example, during an outbreak with a high daily increase and long resolution
time would be substantially lower than the final CFR.
Infection Rate.
Excess Death Rate among Republican voters was 43% higher than the
excess death rate among Democratic voters" after vaccine eligibility was
opened. Excess mortality is a term used in epidemiology and public health
that refers to the number of
deaths from all causes
during a crisis above and beyond what we would have expected to see under
‘normal’ conditions. We’re interested in how the number of deaths during
the COVID-19 pandemic compares to the deaths we would have expected
had the pandemic not occurred — a crucial
quantity that cannot be known but can be estimated in several ways. Excess
deaths are typically defined as the difference between the observed
numbers of deaths in specific time periods and
expected numbers of deaths
in the same time periods.
Death Risk Factors - Vulnerable
How Doctors Can
Predict Who Dies From COVID (youtube) - People who get
infected with
covid-19, around
15 percent require
hospitalization or spend more than one
day in the hospital.
Less than 5 percent require ICU or breathing help.
Around .05 percent to 1 percent die from the covid-19 virus, mostly from a
cytokine storm, which is when an infection triggers your immune system to
flood your bloodstream with
inflammatory proteins called cytokines. They
can kill tissue and damage your organs. Factors that increase your chances
of hospitalization or death includes, if you're old age, if you're a smoker, if you're a male, if you have
type A blood, or if you have co-morbidities such as diabetes, obesity
and heart disease, just to name a few of the things that would
weaken your immune system. A
blood test could help
by determining the level of hemoglobin platelets and white blood cells or
neutrophils monocytes (neutrophilis, basophilis, eosinophils, monocytes,
lymphocytes) (troponin, dimer, ferritin, CRP or c-reactive protein).
Hypervirulent.
Comorbidity is the presence of one or more additional conditions often
co-occurring (that is, concomitant or concurrent) with a primary
condition. Comorbidity describes the effect of all other conditions an
individual patient might have other than the primary condition of
interest, and can be physiological or psychological.
Off-Target Immune System Response Could Predict COVID-19 Severity.
Among the new study findings is that a subset of these autoimmune
antibodies that bind to DNA or to a particular type of fat molecule, a
lipid called
phosphatidylserine, were more often twice as abundant at the start of
coronavirus infection in those whose conditions worsened quickly than in
those whose health did not decline. Patients with these elevated levels of
autoimmune antibodies were five to
seven times more likely to develop severe disease than those whose
antibodies levels were stable.
Estimated pulse wave velocity predicts severe COVID. Researchers found
that estimated
Pulse Wave Velocity, a readily available marker of
arterial stiffness, has
been shown to be an effective addition in identifying patients at risk of
mortality in hospital due to COVID-19.
Proteins may halt the severe cytokine storms seen in Covid-19 patients.
Study finds specific cells in the lungs, nasal passages, and intestines
that are more susceptible to infection. Scientists discovered that the
viral "spike" protein binds to a receptor on human cells known as
angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 or
ACE2. Another human protein, an enzyme
called TMPRSS2, helps to activate the coronavirus spike protein, to allow
for cell entry. The combined binding and activation allows the virus to
get into host cells. Expression of the ACE2 gene appeared to be correlated
with activation of genes that are known to be turned on by interferon, a
protein that the body produces in response to viral infection.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is found in the heart, kidneys and
other organs. In COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel
coronavirus, it is thought to play a role in how the infection progresses
into the lungs.
Common gene variant linked to COVID mortality. What manifests as
minor, flu-like symptoms in some individuals spirals into severe disease,
disability, and even death in others. Researchers demonstrated that mice
with gene variants previously linked to Alzheimer's disease were at
greater risk of dying when infected with COVID. Most people have a form
called APOE3, but 40 percent of the population carries at least one copy
of the APOE2 or
APOE4 variant. Individuals with APOE2 or APOE4 produce proteins that
differ from APOE3 protein by one or two amino acids. One or two amino
acids make a difference. Individuals with APOE4 are at greater risk of
developing Alzheimer's and atherosclerosis.
Antibody blocks infection by the SARS-CoV-2 in cells, scientists discover.
Researchers report that they have identified a fully human
monoclonal
antibody that prevents the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus from infecting
cultured cells. The discovery is an initial step towards developing a
fully human antibody to treat or prevent the respiratory disease COVID-19
caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
New SP1-77
Antibody neutralizes all known SARS-CoV-2 variants in lab tests.
Strong activation of anti-bacterial T cells linked to severe COVID-19.
A type of anti-bacterial
T cells,
so-called MAIT cells, are strongly activated in people with moderate to
severe COVID-19 disease, according to a new study.
Vitamin D levels appear to play role in COVID-19 mortality rates.
Patients with severe deficiency are twice as likely to experience major complications.
In laboratory dish tests, extracts from the flowers of
tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima) and the rhizomes of the
eagle fern (Pteridium aquilinum) each blocked SARS-CoV-2 from entering
human cells. The active compounds are only present in
miniscule quantities in the plants. It
would be ineffective, and
potentially dangerous,
for people to attempt to treat themselves with them, the researchers
stress. In fact, the eagle fern is known to be toxic, they warn. A new
study led by Emory University has found that two common wild plants can
inhibit the activity of the virus causing Covid-19 to infect human cells.
Spike mutations help SARS-CoV-2 infect the brain. This could help us
understand neurological symptoms of COVID-19. New research has uncovered a
series of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that enhanced the
virus ability to infect the brains of mice. The findings may help
scientists understand its neurological symptoms and the mystery of 'long
COVID,' and they could one day even lead to specific treatments to protect
and clear the virus from the brain.
Immune response study explains why some people don't get COVID-19.
Using single-cell sequencing technology, researchers provide the most
comprehensive timeline to date of how the body responds to SARS-CoV-2
exposure.
Why are
some people more vulnerable to covid-19? Why are Black or African American persons, Hispanic
or Latino persons, and American Indian or Alaska Native persons
more vulnerable to covid-19 and have higher rates
of hospitalizations and death? This goes beyond underlying medical
conditions like Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and
obesity, as well as children with obesity, diabetes, asthma or chronic
lung disease, sickle cell disease, or
immunosuppression. Researchers are
continuing to learn about the complicated biological and social reasons
why some people get sicker than others.
Peru has the world's highest COVID death rate in November 2021.
Why are some people immune to covid 19?
Why do some people never have symptoms?
Anti-Body Testing
There are 2 Types of COVID-19 Antibody Tests:
Spike Protein Test and a Nucleocapsid Test.
Spike
Protein Test can detect
antibodies
from a prior or recent infection, regardless of whether symptoms were
present. A positive result means your
body's
immune system has generated a response to a prior COVID-19 infection.
A positive result or a negative result
may
also occur after a COVID-19 vaccination.
Nucleocapsid Test can only detect antibodies from a prior or recent
infection. The test is designed to detect
antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19. Antibodies are
proteins produced by the
immune system in
response to an infection and are specific to that particular infection.
Antibodies also known as immunoglobulins. Antibody testing, also known as
serology testing, is
usually done after full recovery from COVID-19. Eligibility may vary,
depending on the availability of tests. A health care professional takes a
blood sample, usually by a
finger
prick or by
drawing
blood from a vein in the arm. Then the sample is tested to determine
whether you've developed antibodies against the virus. The immune system
produces these antibodies — proteins that are critical for fighting and
clearing out the virus.
Exemptions.
If you contracted the covid-19 virus and have
had a test that confirms you have the anti-bodies,
do you still need a vaccine? It depends on the person and the
vaccine type. It also depends on if the person is at
high risk because of a
weak immune system.
It also depends on if the person is at high risk of reinfection because of
increased social contacts or because they are around many people
throughout the day. It also depends on if the person is irresponsible and
does not wear a mask or wash their hands, especially when the infection
rate are still high. It also depends on if the person is at high risk
because of a poor diet or because of other environmental factors that can
cause the immune system to weaken. People who have had COVID-19 can get
re-infected and people who had a vaccine can also get re-infected. The
most important thing is, is the persons immune system strong enough to
keep them out of the hospital or keep them from dying. To just rely on a
positive covid-19 test or just to rely on a
vaccine
is extremely ignorant. There are many factors that a person needs to be
educated about in order to fully protect
themselves against diseases, and also protect themselves from
misinformation.
Antibodies can take
days or weeks to develop in the body following exposure to a
SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection and it is unknown how long they stay in
the blood.
Serology test performance and antibody test accuracy. Serology tests
detect the presence of antibodies in the blood from the body’s
adaptive immune response to an infection,
like COVID-19.
They do not detect the virus itself.
In the early days of an infection when the body's adaptive immune response
is still building, antibodies may not be detected. This limits the test's
effectiveness for diagnosing current COVID-19 and is one reason
serology
tests should not be used to diagnose or exclude acute COVID-19 infection.
Serology tests play a role in the fight against COVID-19 by helping health
care professionals identify individuals who may have developed an adaptive
immune response to SARS-CoV-2. However, to use serology tests properly, it
is important to understand their performance characteristics and
limitations. The
performance of these tests
is described by their "sensitivity," or their ability to identify those
with antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (true positive rate), and their
"specificity," or their ability to identify those without antibodies to
SARS-CoV-2 (true negative rate). A
test's sensitivity can be estimated by determining whether or not it
is able to detect antibodies in blood samples from patients who have been
confirmed to have COVID-19 with a nucleic acid amplification test, or
NAAT. November 06, 2020,
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first serology
test that detects neutralizing antibodies from recent or prior SARS-CoV-2
infection, which are antibodies that bind to a specific part of a pathogen
and have been observed in a laboratory setting to decrease SARS-CoV-2
viral infection of cells.
Rapid antibody testing finger prick blood test. Antibody tests are
aimed at finding evidence of your body's immune response to a past
infection with the virus, and some testes can actually give you scores
that reflect your levels. The tests may give you numerical readings that
indicate the level of antibodies in your blood that bind to specific
SARS-CoV-2 proteins.
The higher your number is,
the more likely you are to be protected. But the immune system is more
than just antibodies, so even with low detectable levels in your blood
does not necessary mean that you're not defenseless. And consumers need to
be aware that some tests on the market are not standardized. They can have
varying degrees of sensitivity and look for different antibodies. A
positive result means that the test
detected antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19, and it is possible
that you had a recent or prior COVID-19 infection and you have developed
an adaptive immune response to the virus. But a positive antibody test
does not necessarily mean you are immune from SARS-CoV-2 infection, as it
is not known whether having antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 will protect you from
getting infected again. A
negative result
on a SARS-CoV-2 antibody test means antibodies to the virus were not
detected in your sample. It could mean that you have not been infected
with COVID-19 previously, or you had COVID-19 in the past but you did not
develop or have not yet developed detectable antibodies. Many people who
have COVID-19 have mild or no symptoms,
antibody
tests may be the best way to find out how far the new coronavirus has
spread. These blood tests can show who's been exposed to the virus
and who hasn't. It is vital to develop anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity via
natural infection or by vaccination. However, in COVID-19 recovered
individuals, a sharp decline in
humoral
immunity has been observed after 6 – 8 months of symptom onset.
We can't use antibody tests to show that vaccines
are working because many COVID-19 antibody tests are not designed
to specifically detect antibodies that develop as a result of vaccination,
and thus cannot show whether antibodies are of the right quantity or
quality for protection against infection or illness. Antibody testing is
not currently recommended to assess immunity after COVID-19 vaccination.
Cross-Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 by a human monoclonal SARS-CoV
antibody.
Cross-Reactivity is the reactivity of an observed agent which
initiates reactions outside the main reaction expected.
Cross Reactive Immunity.
New testing system using Janus particles rapidly and accurately detects
COVID-19. A research group has developed a new COVID-19 testing system
using
Janus particles -- microparticles with two sides possessing
distinctive molecular properties. These particles are engineered to bind
specifically to target antigens, such as viral proteins, creating a
low-cost, accurate, and rapid means of testing for viral diseases. The
system's versatility means it can potentially be used to test for other
diseases and biomarkers linked to other conditions. A group of researchers
has developed a new quantitative testing system called the "
Express
Biochecker," which provides a simple, rapid, and low-cost method
for detecting the coronavirus N protein.
CDC does not recommend
checking for antibodies after vaccination. Their reasoning includes
the fact that, while there are several COVID-19 antibody tests being used
by commercial labs, most look for antibodies that are different than the
ones produced by the vaccines in use, so they won't offer much
information. When most people sign up for a test, most laboratories and
providers are typically testing for
anti-nucleocapsid
antibodies. The problem with that is those are not antibodies that
would be created by the vaccine, but only through natural infection. So in
other words, many of the antibody tests available now would only be able
to tell you whether you have antibodies as a result of getting COVID, and
not from having received a vaccine. The test results will show the number
of antibodies the person has to the spike protein, but we have no idea yet
how many antibodies a person needs to be protected. Someone could have no
antibodies, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have no protection
against the virus. It could be that if exposed, other helper cells, such
as
B and T cells, would come to the rescue
as a result of vaccination. If an
immunocompromised patient does not have antibodies, doctors may
consider bolstering their protection with another dose of the vaccine,
continued masking and other precautions. Some countries are requiring
antibody tests to the spike protein as a condition for entering the
country, which is usually more than $100 at one of the country's private
labs. But that's not a measure of how protected you are. while there are
antibody tests to verify protection from vaccines for diseases such as
mumps and measles, those took decades to develop, and with COVID-19 we're
only at a year and a half.
Viral Load -
Vaccines.
Protective T cells remain 20 months after COVID-19, study finds.
Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop protective immune responses,
mediated by virus-specific T cells and antibodies, shortly after the
infection.
Pox
Party or flu parties are social activities in which children are
deliberately exposed to infectious diseases such as chickenpox. Such
parties originated to "get it over with" before vaccines were available
for a particular illness or because childhood infection might be less
severe than infection during adulthood, according to proponents. For
example,
measles is more dangerous to adults than
to children over five years old. Deliberately exposing people to diseases
has since been discouraged by public health officials in favor of
vaccination, which has caused a decline in the practice of pox parties,
although flu parties saw a resurgence in the early 2010s. Another, more
modern, method of intentional contagion involves shipping infectious
material. In many parts of the world, shipping infectious items is illegal
or tightly regulated.
Hygiene Hypothesis.
Intentional Contagion of Infection is the act by which a human being
deliberately infects another with a pathogen knowing that they will be
infected. In some legislations of some countries this act has been
criminalized, managing to prosecute it and consider it as aggravating for
fraud or recklessness. One of the most frequent cases of intentional
contagion is that of viruses and bacteria that are considered sexually
transmitted infections, being commonly the most common methods through the
malicious use of syringes and the unsafe sexual act, such as the criminal
transmission of HIV. Intentional contagion of infection is also called
voluntary contagion, conscious contagion, or intentional transmission.
Mutations- Variants - Strains
Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 offer insights into virus evolution. By
analyzing virus genomes from over 7,500 people infected with COVID-19,
researchers have characterized patterns of diversity of SARS-CoV-2 virus
genome, offering clues to direct drugs and vaccine targets. The study
identified close to 200 recurrent
genetic mutations in the virus, highlighting how it may be adapting
and evolving to its human hosts.
The new coronavirus, like all other viruses,
mutates, or undergoes small changes in its genome.
D614G Mutation. A recently
published study suggested that the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, had
already mutated into one more and one less aggressive strain. Another
possibility is that SARS-CoV-2 will mutate in a potentially beneficial
way, making it more difficult for the virus to infect people.
(600 mutations and several new strains).
Replication errors are the main source of mutations. It has been
estimated that uncorrected replication errors occur with a frequency of
10-9 - 10-11 for each nucleotide added by DNA polymerases. Since a cell
division requires synthesis of 6 X 109 nucleotides, the mutation rate is
about one per cell division.
Silent' Mutations Gave the Coronavirus an Evolutionary Edge. RNA
folding may help explain how the coronavirus became so hard to stop after
it spilled over from wildlife to humans. Researchers have identified a
number of 'silent' mutations in the roughly 30,000 letters of the COVID-19
virus's genetic code that helped it thrive once it made the leap from bats
and other wildlife to humans -- and possibly helped set the stage for the
global pandemic.
New Mathematical Model improves Tracking of Epidemics by accounting for
Mutations in Diseases.
Containment.
Delta Variant is highly contagious, more than 2x as contagious as
previous variants. The B.1.617.2 (delta) variant of the severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes
coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), has contributed to a surge in cases
in India and has now been detected across the globe, including a notable
increase in cases in the United Kingdom.
Omicron variant is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes
COVID-19. It was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO)
from South Africa on 24 November 2021. On 26 November 2021, the WHO
designated it as a variant of concern and named it "Omicron", the
fifteenth letter in the Greek
alphabet (Greek letters are used to identify specific variants of
SARS-CoV-2). The variant has an unusually large number of mutations,
several of which are novel.
Variant is a subtype of a microorganism that is genetically distinct
from a main strain, but not sufficiently different to be termed a distinct
strain. A similar distinction is made in botany between different
cultivated varieties of a species of plant, termed cultivars.
There are
200 different varieties of viruses
that can cause the common
cold.
Strain is a genetic variant, a subtype or a culture within a
biological species. Strains are often seen as inherently artificial
concepts, characterized by a specific intent for genetic isolation. This
is most easily observed in microbiology where strains are derived from a
single cell colony and are typically quarantined by the physical
constraints of a Petri dish. Strains are also commonly referred to within
virology, botany, and with rodents used in experimental studies.
New Variants and Strains.
B.1.1.7 Coronavirus Variant has 17 recent mutations that change or delete
amino acids in viral proteins. At the heart of each coronavirus is its
genome, a twisted strand of nearly 30,000 “letters” of RNA. These genetic
instructions force infected human cells to assemble up to 29 kinds of
proteins that help the coronavirus multiply and spread. As viruses
replicate, small copying errors known as mutations naturally arise in
their genomes. A lineage of coronaviruses will typically accumulate one or
two random mutations each month. Some mutations have no effect on the
coronavirus proteins made by the infected cell. Other mutations might
alter a protein’s shape by changing or deleting one of its amino acids,
the building blocks that link together to form the protein. Through the
process of natural selection, neutral or slightly beneficial mutations may
be passed down from generation to generation, while harmful mutations are
more likely to die out. B.1.1.7 gained many of its mutations within a
single person. People with weakened immune systems can remain infected
with replicating coronaviruses for several months, allowing the virus to
accumulate many extra mutations.
Why Are the New
Strains of COVID-19 More Contagious? Mutation N501Y is in the
receptor binding domain of the Spike protein of the virus. Scientists
believe that this mutation may cause it to bind more tightly to the human
angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor. Other changes in the Spike
protein may allow this mutation to evade detection by certain polymerase
chain reaction, which may cause a greater infectivity, or less
susceptibility to vaccine. More severe illness hasn't been seen with the
new variant. But if more people get infected, it follows that more
will get sick and need hospital care.
501.V2 Strain.
Coronavirus variants predicts virus evolving to escape current vaccines.
A new study suggests current vaccines and monoclonal antibody therapies
provide less neutralizing activity against the U.K. and South Africa
variants of SARS-CoV-2.
Scientists identify mechanism that may influence infectivity of SARS-CoV-2
variants. An enzyme process alters spike protein function. Scientists
have found that a process in cells may limit infectivity of SARS-CoV-2,
and that mutations in the alpha and delta variants overcome this effect,
potentially boosting the virus's ability to spread. Scientists studied the
effects of GALNT activity on spike protein in fruit fly and mammalian
cells. The experiments showed that one enzyme,
GALNT1,
adds sugars to wild-type spike protein, and this activity reduces furin
cleavage. By contrast, mutations to the spike protein, like those in the
alpha and delta variants, decrease GALNT1 activity and increase furin
cleavage. This suggested that GALNT1 activity may partially suppress furin
cleavage in wild-type virus, and that the alpha and delta mutations
overcome this effect, allowing furin cleavage to go unchecked.
How human disease-causing genes prevent adaptations to remove them.
COVID-19 is a reminder of the challenges of emerging infectious diseases.
The emergence and rapid increase in cases of coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19), a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, pose
complex challenges to the global public health, research and medical
communities, write scientists.
Symptoms
What
Coronavirus Symptoms Look Like, Day By Day (youtube) - After being
exposed to the
virus that causes COVID-19, it can take as few as two and
as many as 14 days for symptoms to develop. Cases range from mild to
critical. The average timeline from the first symptom to recovery is about
17 days, but some cases are fatal. Here's what it looks like to develop
COVID-19, day by day. Coronavirus could attack
immune system like
HIV by targeting protective cells.
Researchers in China and the US find that the virus that causes Covid-19
can destroy the T cells that are supposed to protect the body from harmful
invaders. The reason, they suspected, was the lack of a membrane fusion
function.
Sars, which killed hundreds in a 2003
outbreak, can only infect cells carrying a specific receptor protein known
as ACE2, and this protein has an extremely low presence in
T cells. New
antibody tests can detect whether people have had the coronavirus
after they recover, but scientists still aren't sure whether people can
get re-infected. Way more people may have gotten coronavirus than we
thought.
Serological Test Validation. April 23, 2020 - New York's first survey
of coronavirus antibodies showed that
13.9% of
those tested had coronavirus antibodies in their system, meaning
they have contracted and recovered from the virus, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. That suggests that 2.7 million people have
been infected statewide. The survey was taken from a sample size of about
3,000 people found outside their homes, shopping at essential businesses,
such as grocery stores, which remain open. Results show antibodies in 12%
of women and 15.9% of men, but a disproportionate rate of antibodies in
black and Latino New Yorkers.
Masks.
Losing Sense of Smell
-
Is it just a Cold? -
Brain Fog
COVID-19 Animation:
What Happens If You Get Coronavirus? (youtube) - The virus exploits
the ribosomes and the packaging structure in your cells membrane. You
breathe in air through the trachea or wind pipe into the
lungs that consists of five lobes,
then through large tubes called bronchi. Then through smaller tubes called
bronchioles, then into tiny sacs called alveoli, which are flexible. The
capillaries surround your alveoli, this is where 02 and co2 are
transported. Mucus in your airways help catch pathogens. But when to much
inflammation the alveoli can fill up with mucus from the immune response.
Lobar pneumonia where one lobe is infected. Bronchopneumonia wher4 both
lobes are infected.
Asymptomatic - No Symptoms
Asymptomatic Carriers. 30 percent of people
with COVID-19
show no symptoms.
Asymptomatic people carry as much virus
in their nose and throat and lungs as people exhibiting symptoms. They
also carry, and spread it, for almost as long. Asymptomatic people were
contagious for about 17 days and
those with symptoms were contagious for
up to 20 days. One theory suggests that some people have
partial immunity
to the coronavirus due to so-called "
memory" T
cells—white blood cells that run the immune system and are in charge
of recognizing invaders. Researchers at NIH are looking into a theory that
suggests ACE2 receptors may affect the severity of illness a person
develops from the new coronavirus. The coronavirus can "latch" onto
ACE2 receptors, which in healthy people
keep blood pressure stable, then travel through the body and replicate.
Researchers are intrigued by the receptors because they've theorized that
minimizing those receptors
may obstruct the virus'
ability to replicate or "trick the virus into attaching itself to a
drug" instead, so it's not able to replicate and travel through the body.
Another possibility is that allergic reactions may protect you by
down-regulating the receptor. Another theory suggests that childhood
vaccines may have provided partial immunity against the new coronavirus
for some patients.
Reinfection Rates. There are few real-world epidemiologic studies that
exist to support the benefit of vaccination for previously infected
persons.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is an
enzyme attached to the
membrane of cells located in the intestines, kidney, testis, gallbladder,
and heart. ACE2 lowers blood pressure by catalyzing the hydrolysis of
angiotensin II (a vasoconstrictor peptide) into angiotensin (1–7) (a
vasodilator). ACE2 counters the activity of the related
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) by reducing the amount of
angiotensin-II and increasing Ang(1-7), making it a promising drug target
for treating cardiovascular diseases. ACE2 also serves as the entry point
into cells for some coronaviruses, including HCoV-NL63, SARS-CoV, and
SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein itself is known to damage the
epithelium via downregulation of ACE2. The human version of the enzyme can
be referred to as hACE2.
Coronavirus Spreads Quickly and Sometimes Before People Have Symptoms.
Researchers found that the average serial interval for the novel
coronavirus in China was approximately four days. This also is among the
first studies to estimate the rate of
asymptomatic transmission.
The speed of an epidemic depends on two things -- how many people each
case infects and how long it takes for infection between people to spread.
The first quantity is called the reproduction number; the second is the
serial interval. The short serial interval of COVID-19 means emerging
outbreaks will grow quickly and could be difficult to stop. Ebola, with a
serial interval of several weeks, is much easier to contain than
influenza, with a serial interval of only a few days. Public health
responders to Ebola outbreaks have much more time to identify and isolate
cases before they infect others.
Asymptomatic
cases. According to various estimates, between 20 and 45 percent of
the people who get COVID-19 — and possibly more, according to a recent
study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — sail through a
coronavirus infection without realizing they ever had it. No fever or
chills. No loss of smell or taste. No breathing difficulties. They don't
feel a thing.
Lingering Covid-19 Symptoms
Lasting for Over a Month. Anywhere from 10% to 30% of people who
get infected with the coronavirus will have
persistent symptoms lasting at
least one month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Many with long COVID continue to deal with symptoms for many
months, even more than a year after the initial infection. One theory some
scientists are looking into is viral persistence. The idea is that someone
catches the SARS-CoV-2 virus and eventually gets over the initial
infection, but it's possible the virus sticks around in some parts of the
body, causing the kinds of persistent symptoms seen in long COVID
patients. Other viruses are known to linger in parts of the body for
months or even years, creating a "
viral reservoir"
in places where the immune system is not as likely to root it out.
Pathogens can hide in tissue and they have a lot of mechanisms to do that.
The proteins they create allow them to better burrow into tissue. Some
studies suggest the coronavirus remains in parts of the body, including
the gut, well after someone has recovered, although this doesn't
necessarily mean the person can spread the virus easily. It's possible the
virus has triggered
autoimmunity in
some long COVID patients. This is when a person's own immune system gets
confused and attacks tissues and organs in the body. Researchers have
found that a coronavirus infection can lead the body to create certain
proteins, called
autoantibodies, that
can end up being harmful. Autoantibodies are seen in many autoimmune
diseases. It could be that other viruses people had before getting the
coronavirus reemerge during the infection and start to cause problems.
These viruses may have been kept in check when the person was healthy, but
it's possible that fighting the SARS-CoV-2 virus dysregulates and throws
off their immune system. This provides a very good atmosphere for these
other viruses to reactivate and potentially infect new nerves, new tissue
or the central nervous system,
even in the brain. Researchers found that
about 36% of those studied still reported COVID-like symptoms three and
six months after diagnosis. Most previous studies have estimated
lingering post-COVID symptoms in 10% to 30%
of patients. Chest/throat pain, abnormal breathing, abdominal symptoms,
fatigue, depression, headaches,
cognitive
dysfunction and muscle pain. Post-viral syndrome, or post-viral
fatigue, refers to a sense of tiredness and weakness that lingers after a
person has fought off a viral infection.
Brain Fog.
If you pretend that you are infected, and you
always wear a mask and wash your
hands, and you
also avoid non-mask people, then the virus could be within a controllable
level within two months. Imagine that, at this instant, you are
exposed to and infected with the coronavirus. You now have COVID-19—it is
day zero—but it is impossible for you or anyone else to know it. In the
following days, the virus will silently propagate in your body, hijacking
your cells and making millions of copies of itself. Around day three of
your infection, there might be enough of the virus in your nasal passages
and saliva that a sample of either would test positive via PCR. Soon, your
respiratory system will be so crowded with the virus that you will become
contagious, spraying the virus into the air whenever you talk or yell. But
you likely will not think yourself sick until around day five, when you
start to develop symptoms, such as a fever, dry cough, or lost sense of
smell. For the next few days, you will be at your most infectious.
Coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on
surfaces. Scientists found that severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable in aerosols for up to three
hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to
two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.
How do I know if I'm Infected?
COVID-19 Testing for the respiratory illness coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) and the associated SARS-CoV-2 virus is possible with two main
methods:
Molecular Recognition and
Serology
Testing. Molecular methods leverage
polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
along with nucleic acid tests, and other advanced analytical techniques,
to detect the genetic material of the virus using real-time reverse
transcription polymerase chain reaction for diagnostic purposes.
Serology
testing, leverages
ELISA
antibody test kits to detect the presence of
antibodies produced by the
host immune system against the virus. Typically two ELISA tests against
two different proteins produced by the virus on between 2 and 4 samples
taken from
sputum and
swabs taken
nasally and from the mouth. If
either test is positive, a microneutralization assay test is performed to
confirm the positive result. The microneutralization assay is highly
specific, but significantly more labor and time intensive. Since
antibodies continue to circulate even after the infection is cleared,
serology tests continue to be positive for individuals who have been
previously exposed and developed an immune response, which means a
positive test may not indicate an active infection. Serology
antibody
testing is being used both for surveillance and investigational purposes
including, in China, confirmation of recovery, only while the molecular
test methodologies are used to diagnosis active infections. According to
news reports,
diagnostic tests developed by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were sent out by early
February 2020 to public health labs in the
U.S. Days later, however, labs were reporting back that the tests weren’t
working due to a manufacturing defect. The defective tests, coupled with
regulatory red tape that prevented state laboratories from using their own
tests, caused further delay.
Testing for COVID-19 (CDC). The South Korean company
Kogenebiotech developed a clinical grade,
PCR based SARS-CoV-2 detection
kit (PowerChek Coronavirus) on 28 January 2020. It looks for the "E" gene
shared by all beta coronaviruses, and the RdRp gene specific to
SARS-CoV-2. Other companies in the country, such as Solgent and Seegene,
also developed versions of clinical grade detection kits, named DiaPlexQ
and Allplex 2019-nCoV Assay, respectively, in February 2020. In China, BGI
Group was one of the first companies to receive emergency use approval
from China's National Medical Products Administration for a PCR-based
SARS-CoV-2 detection kit. In the United States, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) is distributing its 2019-Novel Coronavirus
(2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel to public health labs
through the International Reagent Resource. One of three genetic tests in
older versions of the
test kits caused inconclusive results due to faulty
reagents, and a bottleneck of testing at the CDC in Atlanta; this resulted
in an average of fewer than 100 samples a day being successfully processed
throughout the whole of February 2020. Tests using two components were not
determined to be reliable until 28 February 2020, and it was not until
then that state and local laboratories were permitted to begin testing.
The test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration under an
Emergency Use Authorization.
False-Negative COVID-19 test results may lead to False Sense of Security
-
Laboratory Testing
(screening).
U.S. Coronavirus Testing Still Falls Short -
Test Types
(pdf) -
Will the
COVID Swab Touch the Brain (youtube)
Diagnostic Biosensor quickly detects SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal swabs.
Researchers have developed a field-effect transistor-based biosensor that
detects SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swabs from patients with COVID-19, in
less than one minute.
Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction is a laboratory
technique combining reverse transcription of RNA into DNA (in this context
called complementary DNA or cDNA) and amplification of specific DNA
targets using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It is primarily used to
measure the amount of a specific RNA. This is achieved by monitoring the
amplification reaction using fluorescence, a technique called real-time
PCR or quantitative PCR (qPCR). Combined RT-PCR and qPCR are routinely
used for analysis of gene expression and quantification of viral RNA in
research and clinical settings. The close association between RT-PCR and
qPCR has led to metonymic use of the term qPCR to mean RT-PCR. Such use
may be confusing, as RT-PCR can be used without qPCR, for example to
enable molecular cloning, sequencing or simple detection of RNA.
Conversely, qPCR may be used without RT-PCR, for example to quantify the
copy number of a specific piece of DNA.
Phylogenetic Analysis and Structural Modeling of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein
Reveals an Evolutionary Distinct and Proteolytically Sensitive Activation
Loop.
Unique and Conserved Features of Genome and Proteome of SARS-coronavirus,
an Early Split-off From the Coronavirus Group 2 Lineage.
Molnupiravir is
sold under the brand name
Lagevrio, which
is an
antiviral medication that inhibits
the replication of certain RNA viruses, and is used to treat COVID-19 in
those infected by SARS-CoV-2. Molnupiravir is a prodrug of the synthetic
nucleoside derivative N4-hydroxycytidine (also called EIDD-1931), and
exerts its antiviral action through introduction of copying errors during
viral RNA replication.
PF-07321332 or
Paxlovid or Ritonavir was found to
reduce
the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% compared to placebo in
non-hospitalized. PF-07321332 is an
antiviral drug
developed by Pfizer which acts as an orally active 3CL protease inhibitor.
It is a covalent inhibitor, binding directly to the catalytic cysteine
(Cys145) residue of the enzyme. As Paxlovid, it is in phase 3 trials for
the treatment of COVID-19 in combination with ritonavir. In this
combination, ritonavir serves to slow down metabolism of PF-07321332 by
cytochrome enzymes to maintain higher circulating concentrations of the
main drug. In November 2021, Pfizer announced positive phase 2/3 results,
including 89% reduction in hospitalizations when given within three days
after symptom onset. Despite not being fully approved yet in either
country, The UK has begun stockpiling PF-07321332, and Australia has
preordered 500,000 courses of the drug.
Convalescent Plasma refers to anyone
recovering from a disease. Plasma is the yellow, liquid part of blood that
contains antibodies. People who have fully recovered from COVID-19 for at
least two weeks are encouraged to consider donating plasma, which may help
save the lives of other patients. COVID-19 convalescent plasma must only
be collected from recovered individuals if they are eligible to donate
blood.
BioFire
System Panels test for viruses, bacteria,
parasites, yeast, and
antimicrobial resistance genes. Whether you're trying to determine optimal
therapy for a septic patient or pinpoint which respiratory pathogen is
making a young child sick, the BioFire System can provide definitive
answers—fast.
Dogs can sniff out coronavirus with impressive accuracy. In a
proof-of-concept study,
dogs identified positive samples with 96 percent accuracy. The team found
that after three weeks of training all nine dogs were able to readily
identify SARS-CoV-2 positive samples, with 96% accuracy on average. Their
sensitivity, or ability to avoid false negatives, however, was lower, in
part, the researchers believe, because of the stringent criteria of the
study: If the dogs walked by a port containing a positive sample even once
without responding, that was labeled a "miss." The researchers ran into
many complicating factors in their study, such as the tendency of the dogs
to discriminate between the actual patients, rather than between their
SARS-CoV-2 infection status. The dogs were also thrown off by a sample
from a patient that tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 but who had recently
recovered from COVID-19.
Levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage rose with COVID-19 cases in Dutch
cities. Scientists have detected RNA from the new coronavirus,
SARS-CoV-2, in the feces of people with COVID-19. So it stands to reason
that the viral RNA could end up in city sewage, where it could be used to
monitor prevalence of the disease. Although infectious SARS-CoV-2 has been
detected in stool samples, the virus spreads primarily through respiratory
droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, laughs, speaks or
breathes, according to recent studies.
Remdesivir is an antiviral medication developed by the American
biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences. It is a nucleotide analog,
specifically an adenosine analogue, which inserts into viral RNA chains,
causing their premature termination. It is being studied as a possible
post-infection treatment for COVID-19 (caused by an RNA virus) and on 29
April 2020, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
announced the preliminary results of a study showing remdesivir reduced
the time to recovery for hospitalized patients with advanced COVID-19 and
lung involvement. Remdesivir was originally developed to treat Ebola virus
disease (also caused by an RNA virus).
Patients showing up at hospitals with serious cardiovascular
emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks has shrunk dramatically. We
normally see 100 patients a day, and then you know, overnight, we were
down to 30 or 40.
Lack of
Pollution -
Lack of Stress from Commuting.
What do the Coronavirus Numbers Really Mean? The U.S. data on
coronavirus infections are deeply flawed, the quantification of the
outbreak obscures more than it illuminates. How the data on coronavirus is
presented and discussed is a serious problem. Extremely limited testing
capacity of the U.S., combined with restrictive testing criteria, has
curtailed the number of people who should be tested. How dramatic is the
undercount? Knowing the actual cases is only the number that have been
tested, and most people test negative than positive, and some tests are
inaccurate. Increasing numbers of
people being infected is not being clearly defined. Is it from more people
being tested or from more people getting infected? Or a little of both?
How many false-negative test results were there for the coronavirus?
You just can't give a number, you have to
give a warning or a brief description about how the data was taken and how
it should not be interpreted. You just can't give a word without a
definition. People need to agree on the definitions of words so that they
can effectively communicate. And people need to understand how information
should be interpreted and how it should not be interpreted. People can be
easily mislead. Like with nutritional values on
food labels being based
on a serving amount instead of being based on eating the whole package. A possible
infected person under investigation can mean different things. A confirmed
positive is a person who has been found positive by a state lab that had
that test confirmed by the CDC. A presumptive positive is a person who has
been found positive only in state testing.
Understanding the Coronavirus Numbers.
Preventing Spread of SARS Coronavirus-2 in Humans. Infection
researchers identify potential drug. Infection biologists have
investigated how the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 penetrates cells. They
have identified a cellular enzyme that is essential for viral entry into
lung cells: the protease TMPRSS2. A clinically proven drug known to be
active against TMPRSS2 was found to block SARS-CoV-2 infection and might
constitute a novel treatment option.
Coronavirus primarily
infects the upper respiratory and
gastrointestinal tract of mammals and birds. Seven different currently
known strains of coronaviruses infect humans. Coronaviruses are believed
to cause a significant percentage of all
common colds
in human adults and children. Coronaviruses cause colds with
major
symptoms, e.g. fever, throat congestion and adenoids, in humans primarily
in the winter and early spring seasons. Coronaviruses can cause
pneumonia, either direct viral pneumonia or a secondary
bacterial pneumonia, and bronchitis, either direct viral bronchitis or a
secondary bacterial bronchitis.
Coronaviruses in Humans and Animals.
How the SARS-CoV-2 virus hijacks and rapidly causes damage to human lung
cells. Researchers have identified host proteins and pathways in lung
cells whose levels change upon infection by the SARS-CoV-2, providing
insights into disease pathology and new therapeutic targets to block
COVID-19. They found a crucial type of protein modification called "
phosphorylation"
becomes aberrant in these infected lung cells. The researchers examined
lung alveolar cells from one to 24 hours after infection with
SARS-CoV-2 to understand what changes occur in lung cells immediately (at
one, three and six hours after infection by SARS-CoV-2) and what changes
occur later (at 24 hours after infection).
Why COVID-19 is hitting us now — and how to prepare for the next outbreak
(video and text) - Coronaviruses are a specific subset of virus, and they
have some unique characteristics as viruses. They use RNA instead of DNA
as their genetic material, and they're covered in spikes on the surface of
the virus. They use those spikes to invade cells. Those spikes are the
corona in coronavirus. COVID-19 is known as a novel coronavirus because,
until December, we'd only heard of six coronaviruses. COVID-19 is the
seventh. It's new to us. It just had its gene sequencing, it just got its
name. That's why it's novel. If you remember
SARS,
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,
or
MERS,
Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome,
those were coronaviruses. And they're both called respiratory syndromes,
because that's what coronaviruses do. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, which
means that they transmit from animals to people. Some coronaviruses, like
COVID-19, also transmit person to person. The person-to-person ones travel
faster and travel farther, just like COVID-19. Zoonotic illnesses are
really hard to get rid of, because they have an animal reservoir. One
example is avian influenza, where we can abolish it in farmed animals, in
turkeys, in ducks, but it keeps coming back every year because it's
brought to us by wild birds. You don't hear a lot about it because avian
influenza doesn't transmit person-to-person, but we have outbreaks in
poultry farms every year all over the world. COVID-19 most likely skipped
from animals into people at a wild animal market in Wuhan, China. This is
not the last major outbreak we're ever going to see. There's going to be
more outbreaks, and there's going to be more epidemics. That's not a
maybe. That's a given.
May 5th, more than
9,000 U.S. health-care
workers have contracted the new coronavirus and nearly three-quarters of them are women.
Governments knew for years that an outbreak was coming
The Whitehouse was warned and aware of the
threat and vulnerability of the Coronavirus.2017 - The Department of
Defense and the Pentagon warned the White House about a shortage of
ventilators, face masks, and hospital beds—but the Trump administration
did nothing.
The Pentagon was aware of the likelihood of a
pandemic brought on by a
novel coronavirus years ago.
Department of Defense Implementation Plan for Pandemic Influenza
(August 2006).
In the Spring of 2017, the Trump
administration formally stripped OSHA's airborne infectious disease rule
from the regulatory agenda. When President Trump took office in 2017, his
team stopped work on new federal regulations that would have forced the
health care industry to prepare for an airborne infectious disease
pandemic such as COVID-19. That decision is documented in federal records.
If that rule had gone into effect, then every hospital, every nursing home
would essentially have to have a plan where they made sure they had enough
respirators and they were prepared for this sort of pandemic. There are
still no specific federal regulations protecting health care workers from
deadly airborne pathogens such as influenza, tuberculosis or the
coronavirus. Studies conducted after the H1N1 crisis found voluntary
federal safety guidelines designed to limit the spread of airborne
pathogens in medical facilities often weren't being followed. There were
also shortages of personal protective equipment. The federal government
reports that at least 43,000 front-line health care workers have gotten
sick, many infected, while caring for COVID-19 patients in facilities
where personal protective equipment was being rationed.
2019 - Intelligence
communication intercepts and overhead images showed an increase of
activity at health facilities. The intelligence was distributed to some
federal public health officials in the form of a "
situation
report" in late November. But there was no assessment that a lethal
global outbreak was brewing at that time, a defense official said. But the
current and former officials told NBC News that while no formal assessment
was produced in November — and hence no "intelligence product," in the
jargon of the spy agencies — there was intelligence that
caught the attention of public health analysts
and fueled formal assessments that were written in December. That material
and other information, including some from news and social media reports,
ultimately found its way into President Donald Trump's intelligence
briefing book in January. It is unknown whether he read the information.
Even after public health authorities began sounding the alarm in January,
the U.S. took few steps to ready itself for a pandemic. There was no
effort to boost national stockpiles of medical equipment or encourage
social distancing, for example. While Trump touts his decision to stop
flights from China coming to the U.S. on Jan. 31, about 381,000 people had
flown from China to the U.S. in January, according to an analysis by The
New York Times. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention warned Americans on Jan. 6 to take precautions if they were
traveling to China. The next day, the CDC's Emergency Operation Center
activated a COVID-19
Incident Management System, an emergency management
tool used to direct operations, deliver resources and share information.
It's sad that America has an ignorant leader that does not respond quick
enough or listen to advice. But instead watches thousands of people die
and millions of people lose their jobs, and then takes relief funds for
people in need to enrich himself and also gives money to his scumbag
criminal friends who will use it in devious ways to undermine democracy.
So you don't have to engineer new weapons, all you have to do is just use
the weapons you have to mass murder people and steal their money, the
republican way.
Novel coronavirus circulated undetected months before first COVID-19 cases
in Wuhan, China. Study dates emergence to as early as
October 2019;
Simulations suggest in most cases zoonotic viruses die out naturally
before causing a pandemic. Using
molecular dating tools and epidemiological simulations, researchers
estimate that the SARS-CoV-2 virus likely circulated undetected for two
months before the first human cases of COVID-19 were described in Wuhan,
China in late-December 2019. Regional newspaper reports suggest COVID-19
diagnoses in Hubei date back to at least November 17, 2019, suggesting the
virus was already actively circulating when Chinese authorities enacted
public health measures. In the new study, researchers used
molecular clock
evolutionary analyses to try to home in on when the first, or index, case
of SARS-CoV-2 occurred. "Molecular clock" is a term for a technique that
uses the mutation rate of genes to deduce when two or more life forms
diverged -- in this case, when the common ancestor of all variants of
SARS-CoV-2 existed, estimated in this study to as early as mid-November
2019.
The First Confirmed Case of Coronavirus in the United States was
announced by the state of Washington on
January
21, 2020. Washington made the first announcement of a death from
the disease in the U.S. on February 29 and later announced that two deaths
there on February 26 was also due to COVID-19.
U.S. Lags in Coronavirus Testing After Slow Response to Outbreak. You
could easily say that China under estimated the seriousness of the virus
in early January, that happened right before one of the
worlds most busiest travel seasons. But what are the
excuses for all the other
countries who also under estimated the virus?
China went into lockdown on January 23rd, 2020.
Nearly 8 million kids lost a parent or primary caregiver to the pandemic.
A new international study estimates that from January 1, 2020, to May, 1,
2022, nearly
8 million kids age 18 and under lost a parent or
primary caregiver
to a pandemic-related cause. When the researchers included the deaths of
secondary caregivers
like grandparents or other older relatives, the number of kids affected
rose to 10.5 million.
Global Orphanhood Associated with COVID-19.
Mission:
Impossible 2 is a
2000 action spy film where bio-chemical expert Dr.
Vladimir Nekhorvich warns that his employer at Biocyte Pharmaceuticals
forced him to develop a
biological weapon to
profit from the cure. He arranges to meet
with Ethan to deliver the
chimeric virus,
which is a virus that contains genetic material derived from two or more
distinct viruses. The remedy for the chimera virus is
Bellerophon.
No
Time to Die is a film that started development in
2016. The principal
photography took place from April to October 2019. The film is about
Project Heracles, a
bioweapon containing
nanobots that infect like a virus upon
touch and are
coded to an individual's DNA,
rendering it lethal to the target and their relatives but
harmless to others. The spy film was released
in 2021.
There are many
movies about viruses being used as weapons. So you have to wonder,
where do people get their ideas from?
Inferno
is a
2016 American action
mystery thriller film where people have to stop a madman from unleashing a
virus that could wipe out half of the world's population.
COVID-19 Coronavirus Epidemic has a Natural Origin. The novel
SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, last year
and has since caused a large scale
COVID-19 epidemic and spread to more
than 70 other countries is the product of natural evolution, according to
findings published today in the journal Nature Medicine. The analysis of
public genome sequence data from
SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses found no
evidence that the virus was made in a laboratory or otherwise engineered.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause illnesses
ranging widely in severity. The first known severe illness caused by a
coronavirus emerged with the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
epidemic in China. A second outbreak of severe illness began in 2012 in
Saudi Arabia with the
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). On
December 31 2019, Chinese authorities
alerted the World Health Organization of an outbreak of a novel strain of
coronavirus causing severe illness, which was subsequently named
SARS-CoV-2. As of February 20, 2020, nearly 167,500 COVID-19 cases have
been documented, although many more mild cases have likely gone
undiagnosed. The virus has killed over 6,600 people. Shortly after the
epidemic began, Chinese scientists sequenced the genome of SARS-CoV-2 and
made the data available to researchers worldwide. The resulting genomic
sequence data has shown that Chinese authorities rapidly detected the
epidemic and that the number of COVID-19 cases have been increasing
because of human to human transmission after a single introduction into
the human population. Andersen and collaborators at several other research
institutions used this sequencing data to explore the origins and
evolution of SARS-CoV-2 by focusing in on several tell-tale features of
the virus. The scientists found that the RBD portion of the SARS-CoV-2
spike proteins had evolved to effectively target a molecular feature on
the outside of human cells called ACE2, a receptor involved in regulating
blood pressure. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was so effective at binding
the human cells, in fact, that the scientists concluded it was the result
of natural selection and
not the product of genetic engineering,
but that doesn't mean that the virus can not be grown in labs after it's
discovered, and that doesn't mean that people would not maliciously spread the virus
and then
blame it on
other people for the problems it caused, or would it stop an idiot
from lying to the public about how dangerous the virus is, as well as
downplaying the risks so that needed actions are not taken in time, or
would it stop an
ignorant leader from
intentionally
ignoring known threats of the virus so that they can
use the destruction
that it causes to
commit more
crimes, especially knowing that it would
hurt
minorities more than white people. And it would not stop criminals
from
profiting from the problems
that the virus caused, or would it stop morons from decreasing funding for
needed research and emergency response and preparedness systems, so they
can use their own criminal
negligence as another way to profit from the
chaos and
exploit people
in need, the
republican
way.
White House
adviser to 60 Minutes: Show me your pandemic story (youtube) - 60
Minutes opens the archive on previous stories on U.S. pandemic
preparedness after being challenged by White House trade adviser Peter
Navarro, who is now confirmed to be an ignorant moron and a criminal. The Trump administration paid $55 million for N95 masks to a bankrupt
company Panthera Worldwide LLC, which the company never manufactured. The
company has had zero employees since May 2018. Panthera, which describes
itself as a tactical training company for the US military and other
government agencies, has no record of producing medical supplies or
equipment. And at the same time
delay funding for people and
business in need, while big corporations get millions and banks
collect large fees.
Other countries did a lot better than America
When responding to the Covid19 Virus and controlling the spread of the
Covid19 Virus, other countries did a lot better. We are learning some extremely important lessons from the covid-19
virus, but not everyone is
learning these
lessons, so we are wasting an
opportunity to protect ourselves and protect future generations. This
means that our vulnerabilities are still present.
Why The United
States Is Experiencing Mass Layoffs But Europe Isn't.
South Korea fought and controlled
this virus without using a vaccine or a pill.
How
New Zealand
got
its Coronavirus Cases down to zero in seven weeks.
Jordan's
Prime Minister Says His Country Contained COVID-19 By 'Helping The
Weakest'.
Taiwan and
Thailand also had effective responses to the virus. This clearly shows the power
of people. When people work together we can solve problems and survive
difficult situations. This experience must not be forgotten. Just like our
immune cells, we want our immune system to never forget this virus. This
is why communication and accurate information is so extremely valuable.
When people are not informed or
inoculated with knowledge,
then people will not be able to work together effectively or efficiently,
or will people be able to defend themselves against threats or viruses,
which is why the virus was able to spread so quickly. Lack of
communication and lack of information is deadly and costly, as clearly
seen. Some countries are using different methods and plans to deal with
this virus, and we will see what works and what does not work.
Germany in mid-January, long before
most Germans had given the virus much thought, Charité hospital in Berlin
had already developed a test and posted the formula online. By the time
Germany recorded its first case of Covid-19 in February, laboratories
across the country had built up a stock of test kits to do an extremely
large number of lab diagnoses. Germany is conducting around 350,000
coronavirus tests a week, far more than any other European country. Early
and widespread testing has allowed the authorities to slow the spread of
the pandemic by isolating known cases while they are infectious. It has
also
enabled lifesaving treatment to be
administered in a more timely way, thus Germany had fewer deaths.
When I have an early diagnosis and can treat patients early, for example
put them on a ventilator before they deteriorate, the chance of survival
is much higher. To streamline the procedure, some hospitals have started
doing
block tests, using the swabs of 10
employees, and following up with individual tests only if there is a
positive result. At the end of April, health authorities also plan to roll
out a large-scale antibody study, testing random samples of 100,000 people
across Germany every week to gauge where immunity is building up.
Free Testing. One key to ensuring
broad-based testing is that patients pay nothing for it. A young person
with no health insurance and an itchy throat is unlikely to go to the
doctor and therefore risks infecting more people. United States, testing
is largely limited to the sickest patients, so the man probably would have
been refused a test. In January, Germany had some 28,000 intensive care
beds equipped with ventilators, or 34 per 100,000 people. By comparison,
that rate is 12 in Italy and 7 in the Netherlands. In April, there are
40,000 intensive care beds available in Germany. The time it takes for the
number of infections to double has slowed to about nine days. If it slows
a little more, to between 12 and 14 days, the models suggest that triage
could be avoided.
Germany has a universal multi-payer health care system paid for by a
combination of statutory health insurance,
ensuring free healthcare for all. In addition, you can also take
out private health insurance. Germany, on the other hand, spent $5, 848 on
health care for each of its citizens. Despite spending less per capita,
Germany still manages to cover 100% of its population. In the United
States, about
8.8% of the population remains uninsured, which equates to
about
28 million people.
The United States has no single nationwide system of health insurance.
Trump was
incompetent and
criminally negligent and
corrupt in his
handling of the response to the covid-19 virus. He knew this virus was
extremely dangerous and that it would be a threat to the economy and a
threat to peoples lives, especially to the lives of minorities, which he
has shown several times to be prejudice towards. But trump ignored the
facts and played it down so he could politicize the virus and use the
damage that the virus caused as another way to divide the country and
create turmoil, while at the same time, trying to profit from the virus.
This was an ignorant excuse to justify the killing over 700,000 Americans.
Trump should go to prison for life, as well as the people who helped
influence him to be criminally negligent. Covid-19 was a weapon of mass
destruction and a genocide against the vulnerable.
Trump deliberately sabotaged the nation’s response
to the pandemic.
Interference and
undermining the Covid response. To begin with, the
White House shut down public briefings by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. On Feb. 25, 2020, Nancy Messonnier, the CDC official in
charge of respiratory diseases, warned Americans that a pandemic was
coming and that they should prepare for school and workplace closures.
Trump responded by threatening to fire her. For months thereafter, the
White House refused to authorize CDC briefings. In transcribed interviews,
CDC officials told the subcommittee that in April 2020, the White House
rejected the agency’s request to hold a briefing to present the scientific
case for wearing masks. Instead, Trump delivered his own COVID briefing,
at which he said of masks: “You don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to
do it.” That statement and others, according to CDC officials who spoke to
the subcommittee, gravely undermined the agency’s efforts to control the
pandemic.
Second, the White House altered
CDC guidance to religious congregations, deleting recommendations to wear
masks and take other precautions. In a May 2020 email obtained by the
committee, Jay Butler, a CDC official, reported that the White House had
stripped out crucial elements of the guidance. “All references to face
coverings are missing in the WH version,” Butler wrote. In addition, he
noted, “References to considering virtual events are absent from the WH
version.”
Third, the administration tried
to limit COVID testing in order to hide the extent of the pandemic and
keep businesses open. At a political rally on June 20, 2020, Trump said he
had told “my people” to “slow the testing down.” He later claimed that he
was half-joking, but the report found evidence that in subsequent months,
Trump’s people tried to do exactly as he had instructed. On Aug. 24, 2020,
the administration changed CDC’s guidance to say that most people who
didn’t have COVID symptoms shouldn’t get tested, even if they had been
exposed to a known carrier. An Aug. 27, 2020, email from Paul Alexander,
an advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services, explained that
the guidance had been altered because tests of asymptomatic people, if
they came out positive, would end up “preventing the workforce from
working,” and “widespread testing of schools and colleges/universities”
would “not allow them to optimally re-open.” Republicans are attacking the
White House with a new talking point: More Americans have died of COVID-19
under Joe Biden’s presidency, they point out, than under Donald Trump’s.
Mathematically, that’s true. When Trump left office, the U.S. death toll
was around 400,000 people; now it’s above 800,000. The comparison is
misleading for many reasons, however. One is that Biden has been dealt two
new variants, Delta and Omicron, that spread more aggressively than the
original Wuhan virus did. Furthermore, while Biden has begged Americans to
get vaccinated, Republican politicians have constantly undermined him by
banning or blocking vaccine mandates. But there’s another crucial
difference between the two administrations, and it’s outlined in a new
report from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.
Trump’s administration, unlike Biden’s,
deliberately sabotaged the nation’s response to the pandemic. The
report, issued on Friday, documents multiple channels of interference by
Trump and his underlings. To begin with, the White House shut down public
briefings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Feb. 25,
2020, Nancy Messonnier, the CDC official in charge of respiratory
diseases, warned Americans that a pandemic was coming and that they should
prepare for school and workplace closures. Trump responded by threatening
to fire her. For months thereafter, the White House refused to authorize
CDC briefings. In transcribed interviews, CDC officials told the
subcommittee that in April 2020, the White House rejected the agency’s
request to hold a briefing to present the scientific case for wearing
masks. Instead, Trump delivered his own COVID briefing, at which he said
of masks: “You don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it.” That
statement and others, according to CDC officials who spoke to the
subcommittee, gravely undermined the agency’s efforts to control the
pandemic. Second, the White House altered CDC guidance to religious
congregations, deleting recommendations to wear masks and take other
precautions. In a May 2020 email obtained by the committee, Jay Butler, a
CDC official, reported that the White House had stripped out crucial
elements of the guidance. “All references to face coverings are missing in
the WH version,” Butler wrote. In addition, he noted, “References to
considering virtual events are absent from the WH version.” Third, the
administration tried to limit COVID testing in order to hide the extent of
the pandemic and keep businesses open. At a political rally on June 20,
2020, Trump said he had told “my people” to “slow the testing down.” He
later claimed that he was half-joking, but the report found evidence that
in subsequent months, Trump’s people tried to do exactly as he had
instructed. On Aug. 24, 2020, the administration changed CDC’s guidance to
say that most people who didn’t have COVID symptoms shouldn’t get tested,
even if they had been exposed to a known carrier. An Aug. 27, 2020, email
from Paul Alexander, an advisor to the Department of Health and Human
Services, explained that the guidance had been altered because tests of
asymptomatic people, if they came out positive, would end up “preventing
the workforce from working,” and “widespread testing of schools and
colleges/universities” would “not allow them to optimally re-open.”
Fourth, from September 2020 to January 2021, the White House ignored
urgent entreaties from its COVID task force coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx.
She told the subcommittee that during these months, she had repeatedly
circulated internal reports pleading for more promotion of mask use,
better access to monoclonal infusion and other therapies, immediate
provision of vaccines to elderly people based on “compassionate use,” and
“aggressive testing” to find and alert carriers before they infected
others. By comparing states that implemented such measures to those that
didn’t, Birx estimated that if her pleas had been heeded, fatalities could
have been reduced by 30 percent to 40 percent. The report also details
other ways in which the White House impeded or corrupted the public health
response. Trump’s political appointees tried to pressure the Food and Drug
Administration to authorize hydroxychloroquine and other ineffective
therapies. And early in the pandemic, when Americans faced a dangerous
shortage of masks, a White House adviser, Steven Hatfill, rebuffed
opportunities to get them overseas. In an email on March 27, 2020, a
volunteer on the administration’s pandemic response team asked Hatfill:
“Are you interested in talking to people who have or say they have large
numbers (hundreds of thousands or millions) of N95 or KN95 mask available
from abroad?” Hatfill wrote back: “Nothing that is not US based.” Two
weeks later, the volunteer offered to connect Hatfill to a “US based
sewing company that has manufacturing capacity in Mexico and Central
America.” Hatfield replied that masks had to be “US made.” Trump was
directly involved in much of the administration’s malfeasance, as
investigations by news organizations have previously revealed. But the
subcommittee report links to emails, transcripts, and other documents that
show how the president’s anti-mask, anti-testing rhetoric was translated
into policy and magnified the death toll. There’s no evidence of such
corruption in the Biden administration. On the contrary, Biden has
implored the public to get vaccinated or mask up, while Republican
politicians have undermined him by prohibiting mask mandates and suing to
block his vaccine mandates. So let’s be clear about why so many Americans
have needlessly died in the past two years. One party has been pressing
the brakes on COVID-19. The other has been pressing the accelerator.
Haiti has one of the lowest death rates from
COVID-19 in the world. As of the end of April 2021, only 254 deaths
were attributed to COVID-19 in Haiti over the course of the entire
pandemic. The Caribbean nation, which often struggles with infectious
diseases, has a COVID-19 death rate of just 22 per million. In the U.S.
the COVID-19 death rate is 1,800 per million, and in parts of Europe. the
fatality rate is approaching 3,000 deaths per million. Last June, the
country of 11 million was hit with a significant wave of infections.
Hospital wards filled with COVID-19 patients. At the time, the country
only had two places that could test for the virus, so the actual number of
infections is unknown. Now, testing is far more available, but Pape says
very few cases are detected each day. The pandemic may have had less of an
impact in Haiti, she says, because it's a young country. The average age
is 23. COVID-19 infections tend to be less severe in younger people. It's
also possible, she says, that a significant number of people were infected
by the virus last summer, showed no symptoms and built up immunity. Also
houses tend to be open with plenty of ventilation – air flow can knock the
pathogen out of the picture.
Difference in Infection Rates for
mostly
Republican States vs. mostly Democratic States.
Difference in Infection Rates for
Vermont
when compared to South Dakota.
A new study estimates that
the number of
people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. is more than 900,000, a
number 57% higher than official figures. Worldwide, the study's authors
say, the COVID-19 death count is nearing 7 million, more than double the
reported number of 3.24 million.
Universal Mask Wearing could have saved 130,000 Lives In The U.S.,
Study Suggests. There will be an estimated
385,611 COVID-19 Deaths based on current projection scenario by
February 1, 2021.
Measles
Measles is a highly
contagious infectious disease
caused by the
measles virus.
Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an
infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include
fever, often greater than 40 °C (104.0 °F), cough, runny nose, and
inflamed eyes. Small white spots known as Koplik's spots may form inside
the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms. A red, flat rash
which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body
typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms.
Complications occur in about 30% of cases and may include diarrhea,
blindness, inflammation of the brain, and pneumonia, among others.
Rubella, which is sometimes called German measles, and roseola are
different diseases caused by unrelated
viruses.
Measles is an airborne
disease which spreads easily through the
coughs and sneezes of infected
people. It may also be spread through contact with saliva or nasal
secretions. Nine out of ten people who are not immune and share living
space with an infected person will catch it.
People are infectious to
others from four days before to four days after the start of the rash.
Most people do not get the disease more than once. Testing for the measles
virus in suspected cases is important for public health efforts. Measles
is a highly contagious virus that lives in the nose and throat mucus of an
infected person. Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90%
of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become
infected.
How do you cure the measles? Use
acetaminophen to relieve fever and muscle aches. Rest to help boost your
immune system. Drink plenty of fluids
(six to eight glasses of water a day). Use humidifier to ease a cough and
sore throat. Take vitamin A supplements. Take it easy. Get rest and avoid
busy activities. Sip something. Drink plenty of water, fruit juice and
herbal tea to replace fluids lost by fever and sweating. Seek respiratory
relief. Use a humidifier to relieve a cough and sore throat. Rest your
eyes. The first symptoms of a measles infection are usually a hacking
cough, runny nose, high fever, and red eyes. The fever and rash slowly go
away after a few days. One out of every 1,000 measles cases will develop
acute
encephalitis, which is an inflammation of the brain tissue. The most
common cause is viral infections. In rare cases it can be caused by
bacteria or even fungi.
Measles
spread by
coughing and sneezing via close personal contact or
direct contact with secretions. The virus remains active and
contagious in the air or on infected surfaces for up to 2 hours. It can be
transmitted by an infected person from 4 days prior to the onset of the
rash to 4 days after the rash erupts. Risk factors for severe measles
is
Malnutrition. The
measles virus resides in the mucus in the nose and throat of
infected people. Severe complications from measles can be
avoided through supportive care that ensures
good nutrition,
adequate fluid intake
and treatment of dehydration with
WHO-recommended oral rehydration solution. This solution replaces
fluids and other essential elements that are lost through
diarrhea or vomiting.
Antibiotics should be
prescribed to treat eye and ear infections, and pneumonia. All children
diagnosed with measles should receive two doses of
vitamin A supplements, given 24 hours apart. This treatment restores
low vitamin A levels during measles that occur even in well-nourished
children and can help prevent eye damage and blindness. Vitamin A
supplements have been shown to reduce the number of deaths from measles by
50%. Investments into vaccine campaigns is not
effective enough. You need to invest in educating the public,
it's the only proven way for protecting people. The overwhelming
majority (more than 95%) of measles deaths occur in countries with low per
capita incomes and weak health infrastructures. No specific antiviral
treatment exists for measles virus.
Measles Virus is a single-stranded, negative-sense, enveloped
(non-segmented) RNA virus of the genus Morbillivirus within the family
Paramyxoviridae. Humans are the natural hosts of the virus; no animal
reservoirs are known to exist. The measles virus evolved from the formerly
widespread rinderpest virus, which infects cattle. Sequence analysis has
suggested that the two viruses most probably diverged in the 11th and 12th
centuries, though the periods as early as the 5th century fall within the
95% confidence interval of these calculations. Entry. The measles virus
has two envelope
glycoproteins on the viral surface—
hemagglutinin
(H) and membrane fusion protein (F). These proteins are responsible for
host cell binding and invasion. Three receptors for the H protein have
been identified to date: complement regulatory molecule CD46, the
signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) and the cell adhesion
molecule Nectin-4.
People who have been vaccinated
can still get the measles, but there is only a small chance of this
happening. About 3 percent of people who receive two doses of the measles
vaccine will get measles if they come in contact with someone who has the
virus,
according to the CDC. About three out of 100—who get two doses of
measles vaccine will still get measles if exposed to the virus.
Some people are immune to measles, meaning
that their body has already learned how to fight off the virus, and they
won’t become sick from it. People can become immune to measles if they’ve
already had measles earlier in life, then they are immune and won’t get it
again. The only way to tell for sure that a person is protected (immune)
is by a blood test. The blood test shows whether the body has antibodies
to fight off the virus.
Pets do not get infected
with or spread the measles virus.
How measles wipes out the body's immune memory. Study details the
mechanism and scope of measles-induced immune amnesia in the wake of
infection. A new study shows that measles wipes out 20 to 50 percent of
antibodies against an array of viruses and bacteria, depleting a child's
previous immunity. A measles-ravaged immune system must 'relearn' how to
protect the body against infections. The study details the mechanism and
scope of this measles-induced 'immune amnesia.' The findings underscore
the importance of measles vaccination, suggesting those infected with
measles may benefit from booster shots of all previous childhood vaccines.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus are also called human respiratory
syncytial virus or hRSV and human orthopneumovirus, which is a very
common, contagious virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract.
It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus, and its name is derived
from the large cells known as syncytia that form when infected cells fuse
together. While RSV is the single most common cause of respiratory
hospitalization in infants, reinfection remains common in later life, and
it is an important pathogen in all age groups. Infection rates are
typically higher during the cold winter months, causing bronchiolitis in
infants, common colds in adults, and more serious respiratory illnesses
such as pneumonia in the elderly and immunocompromised. RSV is spread
through contaminated air droplets and can cause outbreaks both in the
community and in hospital settings. Following initial infection via the
eyes or nose, the virus will infect the epithelial cells of the upper and
lower airway, causing inflammation, cell damage, and airway obstruction. A
variety of methods are available for viral detection and diagnosis of RSV
including antigen testing, molecular testing, and viral culture. While the
main prevention measures include hand washing and avoiding close contact
with infected individuals, a prophylactic medication called palivizumab is
available to prevent RSV infection in high-risk infants. Currently, there
is no vaccine against RSV, although many are under development. Treatment
for severe illness is primarily supportive, including oxygen therapy and
more advanced breathing support with CPAP or nasal high flow oxygen, as
required. In cases of severe respiratory failure, intubation and
mechanical ventilation may be required. Ribavirin is the only antiviral
medication currently licensed for the treatment of RSV in children,
although its use remains controversial.
Monkeypox Virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola
virus, the virus that causes
smallpox.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis or a virus transmitted to humans from
animals with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox
patients. Monkeypox can spread to anyone through close, personal, often
skin-to-skin contact, including: Direct contact with monkeypox rash,
scabs, or body fluids from a person with monkeypox. Touching objects,
fabrics (clothing, bedding, or towels), and surfaces that have been used
by someone with monkeypox. A rash that may be located on or near the
genitals (penis, testicles, labia, and vagina) or anus (butthole) but
could also be on other areas. On
Sept. 22, 2017,
an 11-year-old boy had very large lesions affecting his face and all over
his body. This was the first known case of the international monkeypox
outbreak, currently spreading in 78 countries. The rash looked a bit like
chickenpox. But the boy already had chickenpox.
Negative-Strand RNA Viruses or-ssRNA viruses are a group of related
viruses that have negative-sense, single-stranded genomes made of
ribonucleic acid. They have genomes that act as complementary strands from
which messenger RNA (mRNA) is synthesized by the viral enzyme
RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). During replication of the viral
genome, RdRp synthesizes a positive-sense antigenome that it uses as a
template to create genomic negative-sense RNA. Negative-strand RNA viruses
also share a number of other characteristics: most contain a viral
envelope that surrounds the capsid, which encases the viral genome, -ssRNA
virus genomes are usually linear, and it is common for their genome to be
segmented. Negative-strand RNA viruses constitute the phylum
Negarnaviricota, in the kingdom Orthornavirae and realm Riboviria. They
are descended from a common ancestor that was a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)
virus, and they are considered to be a sister clade of reoviruses, which
are dsRNA viruses. Within the phylum, there are two major branches that
form two subphyla: Haploviricotina, whose members are mostly non-segmented
and which encode an RdRp that synthesizes caps on mRNA, and
Polyploviricotina, whose members are segmented and which encode an RdRp
that snatches caps from host mRNAs. A total of six classes in the phylum
are recognized. Negative-strand RNA viruses are closely associated with
arthropods and can be informally divided between those that are reliant on
arthropods for transmission and those that are descended from arthropod
viruses but can now replicate in vertebrates without the aid of
arthropods. Prominent arthropod-borne -ssRNA viruses include the Rift
Valley fever virus and the tomato spotted wilt virus. Notable vertebrate -ssRNA
viruses include the Ebola virus, hantaviruses, influenza viruses, the
Lassa fever virus, and the rabies virus.
Morbillivirus is a genus of viruses in the order Mononegavirales, in
the family Paramyxoviridae. Humans, dogs, cats, cattle, and cetaceans
serve as natural hosts. This genus currently included seven species.
Diseases in humans associated with viruses classified in this genus
include measles: fever, and rash; in animals, they include acute febrile
respiratory tract infection.
Paramyxoviridae is a family of viruses in the order Mononegavirales.
Vertebrates serve as natural hosts; no known plants serve as vectors.
There are currently 49 species in this family, divided among 7 genera.
Diseases associated with this negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus
family include measles, mumps, and respiratory tract infections.
Sense in molecular biology and genetics, the sense of nucleic acid
molecules (often DNA or RNA) is the nature of their roles and their
complementary molecules' nucleic acid units' roles in specifying amino
acids. Depending on the context within molecular biology, sense may have
slightly different meanings. For example, DNA is positive-sense if an RNA
version of the same sequence is translated or translatable into protein,
negative-sense if not.
RNA sense in viruses:
In virology, the genome of an RNA virus can be said to be either
positive-sense, also known as a "plus-strand", or negative-sense, also
known as a "minus-strand". In most cases, the terms sense and strand are
used interchangeably, making such terms as positive-strand equivalent to
positive-sense, and plus-strand equivalent to plus-sense. Whether a virus
genome is positive-sense or negative-sense can be used as a basis for
classifying viruses.
Positive-sense: (5' to
3') viral RNA signifies that a particular viral RNA sequence may be
directly translated into the desired viral proteins. Therefore, in
positive-sense RNA viruses, the viral RNA genome can be considered viral
mRNA, and can be immediately translated by the host cell. Unlike
negative-sense RNA, positive-sense RNA is of the same sense as mRNA. Some
viruses (e.g., Coronaviridae) have positive-sense genomes that can act as
mRNA and be used directly to synthesize proteins without the help of a
complementary RNA intermediate. Because of this, these viruses do not need
to have an RNA polymerase packaged into the virion.
Negative-sense: (3' to 5') viral RNA is
complementary to the viral mRNA and thus from it a positive-sense RNA must
be produced by an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase prior to translation.
Negative-sense RNA (like DNA) has a nucleotide sequence complementary to
the mRNA that it encodes. Like DNA, this RNA cannot be translated into
protein directly. Instead, it must first be transcribed into a
positive-sense RNA that acts as an mRNA. Some viruses (Influenza, for
example) have negative-sense genomes and so must carry an RNA polymerase
inside the virion.
Complementarity in molecular biology, complementarity describes a
relationship between two structures each following the lock-and-key
principle. In nature complementarity is the base principle of DNA
replication and transcription as it is a property shared between two DNA
or RNA sequences, such that when they are aligned antiparallel to each
other, the nucleotide bases at each position in the sequences will be
complementary, much like looking in the mirror and seeing the reverse of
things. This complementary base pairing allows cells to copy information
from one generation to another and even find and repair damage to the
information stored in the sequences. The degree of complementarity between
two nucleic acid strands may vary, from complete complementarity (each
nucleotide is across from its opposite) to no complementarity (each
nucleotide is not across from its opposite) and determines the stability
of the sequences to be together. Furthermore, various DNA repair functions
as well as regulatory functions are based on base pair complementarity. In
biotechnology, the principle of base pair complementarity allows the
generation of DNA hybrids between RNA and DNA, and opens the door to
modern tools such as cDNA libraries. While most complementarity is seen
between two separate strings of DNA or RNA, it is also possible for a
sequence to have internal complementarity resulting in the sequence
binding to itself in a folded configuration.
Agglutination in biology is the clumping of particles. Agglutination
is the process that occurs if an antigen is mixed with its corresponding
antibody called isoagglutinin. This term is commonly used in blood
grouping This occurs in biology in three main examples: The clumping of
cells such as bacteria or red blood cells in the presence of an antibody
or complement. The antibody or other molecule binds multiple particles and
joins them, creating a large complex. This increases the efficacy of
microbial elimination by
phagocytosis as large clumps of bacteria can be eliminated in one
pass, versus the elimination of single microbial antigens. When people are
given blood transfusions of the wrong blood group, the antibodies react
with the incorrectly transfused blood group and as a result, the
erythrocytes clump up and stick together causing them to agglutinate. The
coalescing of small particles that are suspended in a solution; these
larger masses are then (usually) precipitated.
Nipah virus infection is a viral infection caused by the Nipah virus.
Symptoms from infection vary from none to fever, cough, headache,
shortness of breath, and confusion. This may worsen into a coma over a day
or two, and 50% to 75% of those infected die. Complications can include
inflammation of the brain and seizures following recovery.
Nipah
virus is a bat-borne virus that causes Nipah virus infection in humans
and other animals, a disease with a high mortality rate. Numerous disease
outbreaks caused by Nipah virus have occurred in South and Southeast Asia.
Nipah virus belongs to the genus Henipavirus along with the Hendra virus,
which has also caused disease outbreaks. Symptoms include Fever, Headache,
Muscle Pain (myalgia), Vomiting and Sore Throat. These symptoms can be
followed by more serious conditions including: Dizziness, Drowsiness,
Altered Consciousness, Acute Encephalitis,
Atypical Pneumonia, Severe Respiratory and Seizures.
Bacteria
Bacteria is a large domain of
prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few
micrometres in length, bacteria have a number of shapes, ranging from
spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria also live in
symbiotic and parasitic
relationships with plants and animals. Most bacteria have not been
characterized, and only about half of the bacterial phyla have species
that can be grown in the laboratory. The study of bacteria is known as
bacteriology, a branch of
microbiology.
Bacterial vs. Viral Infections: How do they differ?
Pathogenic Bacteria are bacteria that
can cause
infection. Although most bacteria are harmless or often
beneficial, some can produce
disease.
Cyanobacteria -
Bacteria Gas
Gram-Positive Bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the
Gram
stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria
into two broad categories according to their cell wall.
Gram-Negative Bacteria are a group of bacteria that do not retain the
crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial
differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are
composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall sandwiched between an inner
cytoplasmic cell membrane and a bacterial outer membrane.
Meningitis is an acute
inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal
cord, known collectively as the meninges. The most common symptoms are
fever, headache and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or
altered consciousness, vomiting, and an inability to tolerate light or
loud noises. Young children often exhibit only nonspecific symptoms, such
as irritability, drowsiness, or poor feeding. If a rash is present, it may
indicate a particular cause of meningitis; for instance, meningitis caused
by meningococcal bacteria may be accompanied by a characteristic rash.
Infections.
Compound from medicinal herb kills brain-eating amoebae in lab studies.
Primary
amoebic meningoencephalitis or PAM, a deadly disease caused by the '
brain-eating
amoeba'
Naegleria fowleri, is becoming more common in some areas of the world,
and it has no effective treatment. Now, researchers have found that a
compound isolated from the leaves of a traditional
medicinal plant,
Inula viscosa or 'false yellowhead,' kills the amoebae by causing them
to commit
cell suicide in lab studies, which could lead to new treatments.
Newly discovered virus can kill resistant bacteria. Viruses exist in
nature and are the world's most widespread organism. They are everywhere
and part of all kinds of microbial cycles and ecosystems. Many viruses are
so-called bacteriophages (or
phages), meaning that
they kill bacteria, and Fyn8 is no exception. It can attack and kill the
bacteria
Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterium found
naturally in soil and water. It is normally harmless towards healthy
people, but like many other bacteria it has developed resistance to
antibiotics and is found in hospitals.
Bacteria's extensive weaponry. A new study tackles the mystery of why
bacteria often carry diverse ranges of weapons. The findings show that
different weapons are best suited to different competition scenarios.
Short-range weapons help bacteria to invade established communities;
long-range weapons are useful once established.
Sepsis is a
life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to
infection causes injury to its own tissues and
organs. Common signs and symptoms include fever, increased heart rate,
increased breathing rate, and confusion. There may also be symptoms
related to a specific infection, such as a cough with pneumonia, or
painful urination with a kidney infection. In the very young, old, and
people with a
weakened immune system,
there may be no symptoms of a specific infection and the body temperature
may be low or normal, rather than high. Severe sepsis is sepsis causing
poor organ function or insufficient blood flow. Insufficient blood flow
may be evident by low blood pressure, high blood lactate, or low urine
output. Septic shock is low blood pressure due to sepsis that does not
improve after fluid replacement. Sepsis is caused by an inflammatory
immune response triggered by an infection. Most commonly, the infection is
bacterial, but it may also be fungal, viral, or protozoan. Common
locations for the primary
infection include the lungs, brain, urinary
tract, skin, and abdominal organs.
Septic Shock
is a serious medical condition that occurs when sepsis, which is organ
injury or damage in response to infection, leads to dangerously low blood
pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism.
Sepsis is the presence of pus-forming bacteria or their
toxins in the blood or
tissues.
Macrophage Nano-Sponges could keep Sepsis in check. Researchers have
developed macrophage 'nanosponges' -- nanoparticles cloaked in the cell
membranes of
macrophages -- that can safely remove sepsis-causing
molecules from the bloodstream.
Immune System.
Sepsis need not be fatal. Researchers have identified molecular
biomarkers, pathways and immune cell dynamics associated with sepsis that
could be
therapeutically targeted to prevent the condition from leading to
death. Sepsis, the body's life-threatening response to
infection affecting about 1.7 million adults in
the United States each year, can lead to multisystem organ failure with a
high mortality rate. No targeted therapeutics against this condition have
been developed in the last decades.
Toxic Shock Syndrome is a condition caused by bacterial toxins.
Symptoms may include fever, rash, skin peeling, and low blood pressure.
There may also be symptoms related to the specific underlying infection
such as mastitis, osteomyelitis, necrotising fasciitis, or pneumonia. TSS
is caused by bacteria of either the
Streptococcus pyogenes or
Staphylococcus aureus type. Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS)
is sometimes referred to as toxic shock-like syndrome (TSLS). The
underlying mechanism involves the production of
superantigens during an invasive streptococcus infection or a
localized staphylococcus infection. Risk factors for the staphylococcal
type include the use of very absorbent tampons and skin lesions in young
children. Diagnosis is typically based on symptoms. Treatment includes
antibiotics, incision and drainage of any
abscesses, and possibly intravenous immunoglobulin. The need for rapid
removal of infected tissue via surgery in those with a streptococcal cause
while commonly recommended is poorly supported by the evidence. Some
recommend delaying surgical debridement. The overall risk of death in
streptococcal disease is about 50% while in staphylococcal disease it is
around 5%. Death may occur within 2 days.
Burkholderia Pseudomallei is a
Gram-negative, bipolar, aerobic, motile rod-shaped bacterium. It is a
soil-dwelling bacterium endemic in tropical and subtropical regions
worldwide, particularly in Thailand and northern Australia. It infects
humans and animals and causes the disease melioidosis. It is also capable
of infecting plants.
Melioidosis is an
infectious disease caused by
a
Gram-negative bacterium,
Burkholderia pseudomallei, found in soil and water. It is of public
health importance in endemic areas, particularly in northeast Thailand,
Vietnam, and northern Australia. It exists in acute and chronic forms.
Signs and symptoms may include pain in chest, bones, or joints; cough;
skin infections, lung nodules, and pneumonia.
Scientists discover how potent bacterial toxin kills MRSA bacteria.
The
lysostaphin is able to increase the number of its molecules bound to
the surface of the MRSA cell and this allows the enzyme to 'walk' along
the cell walls and cause rapid breakdown.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or
MRSA refers to a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are
genetically distinct from other strains of Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is
responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans.
Newly identified bacteria-killing protein needs vitamin A to work.
RELMa is the first example of an antimicrobial protein that requires
dietary
vitamin A for its bacterial killing
activity.
Visible light triggers molecular machines to treat infections.
Chemists have created
light-activated molecular machines and shown they can drill holes
through the membranes of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, killing
them in as little as two minutes. Their study offers a potential new
strategy for fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which have no natural
defenses against the mechanical invaders.
Certain bacteria can override a defense mechanism
of the immune system, so-called
programmed cell death, through inhibition of death effector molecules
by their outer membranes components. Shigella bacteria, which cause
diarrhoea, use lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on
their surface to block the effector caspases. Lipopolysaccharides are a
component of the bacterial outer membrane. This strategy enables the
bacteria to multiply within the cell. Various bacterial pathogens can
escape our immune system by staying and multiplying within our body cells
(intracellularly). The intracellular propagation of pathogens later leads
to cell breakdown and the release of microorganisms that infect
neighbouring cells spread and cause tissue damage and infectious disease.
However, the body has a response to this bacterial strategy: programmed
cell death, or apoptosis, reacts to cellular stress situations during
infections and causes quick suicide of the
infected cells. Due to this
rapid self-destruction programme of our body cells, pathogens cannot
multiply - the immune system successfully eliminates them. Scientists have
observed in the past that pathogens can effectively block apoptosis,
allowing them to reproduce and spread intracellularly. However, the
molecular mechanism responsible for how these bacteria 'outsmarted' the
immune system was largely unknown. Kashkar lab has now shown that the
pathogen that causes shigellosis (Shigella), a typical cause of acute
inflammatory diarrhoea, blocks apoptosis by efficiently blocking certain
enzymes, so-called caspases, which act as engines that initiate apoptosis.
The biologists showed that lipopolysaccharides bind and block the caspase.
Bacteria without complete LPS, on the other hand, spark apoptosis, which
blocks them from reproducing intracellularly. They are successfully
eliminated by the immune system and thus no longer able to cause
infectious diseases. Kashkar lab's work has thus deciphered an important
bacterial strategy to prevent the rapid death of the host cell and
establish a niche to spread.
Study IDs bacterial weapons that could be harnessed to treat human disease.
Discovery of ancient immune-fighting machinery paves way toward more
'CRISPR'-like technologies
When it comes to fighting off invaders,
bacteria operate in a remarkably similar way to human cells, possessing
the same core machinery required to switch immune pathways on and off,
according to new research. Proteins called
Cap2 and
Cap3 (CD-NTase-associated protein 2 and 3) -- which serve, respectively,
as on and off switches for the cGAS response.
Scientists test 'smart' red blood cells to deliver antibiotics that target
specific bacteria. Physicists have identified a natural delivery
system which can safely carry potent antibiotics throughout the body to
selectively attack and kill bacteria by using red blood cells as a
vehicle. Researchers have developed a way to open red blood cells and
remove the inner components, leaving only a membrane -- known as a
liposome -- which can be loaded with drug molecules and injected back into
the body. The process also involves coating the outside of the membrane
with antibodies, allowing it to stick to bacteria and deliver the antibody
safely.
Variable Bacteria living in your Mouth. Researchers take a closer look
at the genomes of microbial communities in the human mouth. Researchers
have examined the human oral
microbiome and discovered tremendous variability in bacterial
subpopulations living in certain areas of the mouth. In many cases, the
team was able to identify a handful of genes that might explain a
particular bacterial group's habitat specificity. The team scoured public
databases and downloaded 100 genomes that represented four species of
bacteria commonly found in the mouth, Haemophilus parainfluenzae and the
three oral species of the genus Rothia, and used them as references to
investigate their relatives sampled in hundreds of volunteers' mouths from
the
Human Microbiome Project
(HMP).
Bacterial cells transmit memories to offspring. Bacterial cells can
'remember' brief, temporary changes to their bodies and immediate
surroundings, a new study has found. And, although these changes are
not encoded in the cell's genetics, the
cell still passes memories of them to its offspring -- for multiple
generations. Temporary stress can cause heritable changes without altering
the genetics, study finds.
How the oceans' most abundant bacteria impact global nutrient flows.
If you were to collect all the organisms from the ocean surface down to
200 meters, you'd find that
SAR11 bacteria, though invisible to the naked eye, would make up a
fifth of the total biomass. These bacteria, also known as
Pelagibacterales,
have evolved to thrive in nutrient-poor marine environments and play a
significant role in global nutrient cycles. Despite their importance, the
mechanisms behind their impact on the planetary ecosystem have remained
unclear. But now, a recent article sheds light on a crucial aspect of
these bacteria.
Bacteria's secret weapon revealed. Scientists have discovered a
previously unknown method used by bacteria to evade immune responses. The
study showed that immune cells sense that their mitochondria are no longer
functional during infections, which triggers
apoptosis. Ironically, it is the
activation of host cell death factors that deliver the final blow to
mitochondria which induces apoptosis, not the bacterial toxins themselves.
Sneezing
Sneezing is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the
lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles
irritating the nasal mucosa. A sneeze expels air forcibly from the mouth
and nose in an explosive, spasmodic
involuntary action resulting chiefly from irritation of the
nasal mucous
membrane. Sneezing is possibly linked to sudden exposure to bright light,
sudden change or
fall in temperature, breeze of cold air, a particularly
full stomach, or viral infection, and can lead to the spread of disease.
Photo on the right is what a
sneeze looks like in slow motion, discharging
mucus
containing foreign particles.
Photic Sneeze Reflex causes variable
difficulty to control sneezing in response to numerous stimuli, like the
Sun.
Maxillary Nerve transmits sensations from the nasal cavity and
sinuses.
Allergies -
Pollution
-
Germs
-
Clay
(soil science)
Biology -
Immune System -
Washing your Hands
Cough is a sudden and often repetitively
occurring reflex which helps to clear the large breathing passages from
fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. The cough reflex
consists of three phases: an inhalation, a forced exhalation against a
closed glottis, and a violent release of air from the lungs following
opening of the glottis, usually accompanied by a distinctive sound.
Coughing is either voluntary or involuntary.
Coughing Dangers (image). Instead of
cough syrup, consider sipping hot
lemon
tea with
honey instead. A common cold may
be the source of your
throat tickle. This
viral condition causes symptoms in your upper respiratory tract, including
your throat. A
cold symptom that may lead to a throat
tickle is postnasal drip, which causes mucus to run down the back of your
throat.
Coughing is a sudden noisy
expulsion of air from the lungs that clears the air passages. A common
symptom of upper respiratory infection, bronchitis, pneumonia or
tuberculosis. Exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or
congestion.
Common Cold is a
viral infectious
disease of the upper respiratory tract that primarily affects the nose.
The throat, sinuses, and voice box may also be affected. Signs and
symptoms may begin less than two days following exposure. They include
coughing, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, headache, and fever. People
usually recover in seven to ten days. Some symptoms may last up to three
weeks. In those with other health problems, pneumonia may occasionally
develop.
Cold Remedies (Mayoclinic) -
Webmd Remedies
Cold Weather and Freezing Temperatures affect the
Body. Exposure to cold and dry air may adversely impact the body's
immune system. Breathing in cold and dry air causes the blood vessels in
the upper respiratory tract to narrow to conserve heat. This may prevent
white blood cells from
reaching the
mucous membrane, making it harder for
the body to fight off germs and allowing them to slip past our defenses
unnoticed. Cold weather acts as a
vasoconstrictor, which means it narrows blood vessels. It could be for
this reason that we tend to catch a cold if we go outside with wet hair.
Blood pressure increases
during the winter, which can cause a wintertime increase in the death rate
from heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular causes of death.
Older adults are at risk for
hypothermia, in
which the body's internal temperature falls too low. Shivering is another
familiar defense mechanism against falling body temperatures. The rapid,
rhythmic muscle contractions throw off heat that helps the rest of the
body stay warm. Taller people tend to get cold faster than shorter people
because a larger surface area means more heat loss. Brown fat is the
heat-producing, calorie-burning fat that babies need to regulate their
body temperatures.
Flu season is a winter event,
and flu viruses spread more readily once the air is dry and chilly. And
during winter months,
people spend more time
inside and in close contact with each other, meaning that we’re in
closer contact with other people who may be carrying germs.
Viruses from coughs and
sneezes can hang around in the air for days because of the
drier air in the winter. Sun-exposed skin makes vitamin D, a vitamin that
seems to have all kinds of health benefits. During the winter, when days
are short and the sun is at a low angle, levels of the vitamin in the body
tend to dip. Cold temperatures and low
vitamin D
levels may be a bad combination because it lowers the body’s immune
system. Dry winter air can suck the moisture from your skin, which could
cause
dehydration, and
not just
dry skin.
Washing Hands.
Air Conditioners in summer
can also be a problem.
Flu Virus' best friend: Low Humidity. Low humidity hinders the immune
response of the animals in three ways. It prevented cilia, which are
hair-like structures in airways cells, from removing viral particles and
mucus. It also reduced the ability of airway cells to repair damage caused
by the virus in the lungs. The third mechanism involved interferons, or
signaling proteins released by virus-infected cells to alert neighboring
cells to the viral threat. In the low-humidity environment, this innate
immune defense system failed.
Why some people exposed to the Cold Virus get ill while others don't?
A Yale research team has revealed how cells in different parts of the
human airway vary in their response to the common cold virus. Researchers
triggered the virus surveillance pathway -- known as the RIG-I pathway --
in both nasal and lung cells. They found that both cell types generated an
antiviral response and a defense response against oxidative stress, a form
of cell damage induced by viruses and other inhaled irritants such as
cigarette smoke or tree
pollen. In nasal cells, the antiviral response was stronger, but in
bronchial cells, defense against oxidative stress was more pronounced. In
additional experiments, the research team found evidence for a tradeoff:
The defense response against oxidative stress shut off antiviral defenses.
To probe this further, the team exposed nasal cells to oxidative stress in
the form of cigarette smoke, and then to the cold virus, and found that
the nasal cells were more susceptible to the virus. They survive the
cigarette smoke but can't fight the virus as well.
You Get Less Colds as you get older.
You're less likely to get sick with colds and other minor viral infections
after midlife because each time your body is exposed to a
virus, it develops
antibodies that
make you immune to that virus in the future. This means that more you age,
the more likely it is that you'll be immune to many — but not all — cold
viruses.
There are more than 200 different viruses
that cause colds. "But by the time you reach your 60s or 70s with a
lifetime of colds behind you, you've developed
immunity to many of the circulating cold
viruses. After age 50, the body reacts with less vehemence to hay fever
and other seasonal allergies, perhaps because older bodies produce less of the allergic
ntibody IgE.
Mucus - Phlegm - Congestion - Nasal Sinuses
Nasal Congestion is the blockage of the
nasal passages usually due to membranes lining the nose becoming swollen
from
inflamed blood vessels.
Relieve Stuffy Nose Instantly (youtube)
Relieve Head Congestion -
Relieve Ear Congestion
-
Immune
Response
Nasal Cycle is the result of alternating
congestion and decongestion of the nasal conchae or turbinates,
predominantly the inferior turbinates, which are by far the largest of the
turbinates in each nasal fossa. The cycle, which is controlled by the
autonomic nervous system,
has a mean duration of two and a half hours. It has been shown that the
cilia of the congested side suspend their motility until that side
decongests. Thus the cycle ensures that one side of the nose is always
moist, to facilitate humidification, which is one of the three functions
of the nose, the other two being filtration and warming of inspired air
prior to its entering the
lungs.
Sinusitis
is
inflammation of the sinuses resulting in symptoms.
Sinus Infection -
Colloidal Silver
Nasal Irrigation
is a personal hygiene practice in which the nasal cavity is washed to
flush out excess mucus and debris from the nose and sinuses. The practice
is generally well-tolerated and reported to be beneficial with only minor
side effects. Nasal irrigation in a wider sense can also refer to the use
of saline nasal spray or nebulizers to moisten the mucous membranes.
It is the Mucus that Binds Us -
Ace Ventura,
Binding Mucus Scene (youtube)
Phlegm is a liquid secreted by the
mucous membranes of mammals. Its definition is limited to the mucus
produced by the respiratory system, excluding that from the nasal
passages, and particularly that which is expelled by coughing (sputum).
Phlegm is in essence a water-based gel consisting of glycoproteins,
immunoglobulins, lipids and other substances. Its composition varies
depending on climate, genetics, and state of the
immune system. Its color
can vary from transparent to pale or dark yellow and green, from light to
dark brown, and even to dark grey depending on the constituents.
Get Rid of Phlegm in Your Throat Without
Medicine. Boil cup of water. Add 1/4 cup
apple cider vinegar. One tablespoon of Honey. A dash of Cayenne Pepper. A
little Lemon Juice. Let it get to room temperature and drink one cup in
the morning and one at night.
Make sure that you drink
plenty of liquids such as water, juice or
tea with honey, and gargle daily with warm
salt water to thin out mucus. Another easy
fix to get rid of
excess
mucus, is to add eucalyptus oil to a tub
of boiling water and inhale the vapors which
will help to drain the mucus from the throat
and chest.
Mucus is
a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes.
It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it
may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous
cells. It is a viscous colloid containing inorganic salts,
antimicrobial
enzymes (such as lysozymes), immunoglobulins, and glycoproteins such as
lactoferrin and mucins, which are produced by goblet cells in the mucous
membranes and submucosal glands. Mucus serves to
protect epithelial cells
(that line the tubes) in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital,
visual, and auditory systems; the epidermis in amphibians; and the gills
in fish, against infectious agents such as fungi, bacteria and viruses.
Most of the mucus produced is in the gastrointestinal tract.
How mucus tames microbes. Specialized sugar molecules called
glycans
can disarm opportunistic pathogens and prevent infection. New research
reveals that glycans -- branched sugar molecules found in mucus -- can
prevent bacteria from communicating with each other and forming infectious
biofilms, effectively rendering the microbes harmless.
Researchers identify how cells move faster through mucus than blood.
Researchers have discovered that
certain cells
move surprisingly faster in thicker fluid because their ruffled
edges sense the
viscosity
of their environment and adapt to increase their speed. Their combined
results in cancer and fibroblast cells suggest that the
viscosity of a cell's
surrounding environment is an important contributor to disease, and may
help explain tumor progression, scarring in mucus-filled lungs affected by
cystic fibrosis, and the wound-healing process.
Goblet
Cell are simple columnar epithelial cells that secrete
gel-forming
mucins, like
mucin
MUC5AC. The goblet cells mainly use the merocrine method of secretion,
secreting vesicles into a duct, but may use apocrine methods, budding off
their secretions, when under stress. The term goblet refers to the cell's
goblet-like shape. The apical portion is shaped like a cup, as it is
distended by abundant mucus laden granules; its basal portion lacks these
granules and is shaped like a stem. The goblet cell is highly polarized
with the nucleus and other organelles concentrated at the base of the cell
and secretory granules containing mucin, at the apical surface. The apical
plasma membrane projects microvilli to give an increased surface area for
secretion. Goblet cells are typically found in the respiratory,
reproductive and gastrointestinal tracts and are surrounded by stratified
squamous cells. Differentiation of epithelial cells into goblet cells
plays a key role in the excessive mucus production seen in many diseases, such as asthma and cancer.
Nasal Cavity is a
large, air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the
face. The nasal septum divides the cavity into two cavities, also known as
fossae. Each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. The
nasal cavity is the uppermost part of the respiratory system and provides
the nasal passage for inhaled air from the nostrils to the nasopharynx and
rest of the respiratory tract. The paranasal sinuses surround and drain
into the nasal cavity. The
nasopharynx is the upper part of the throat (
pharynx)
that lies behind the nose. It's a box-like chamber about 1½ inches on each
edge. It lies just above the soft part of the roof of the mouth (soft
palate) and just in back of the nasal passages.
Swab Test.
Mucous Membrane is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body
and surrounds internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of
epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It is of
entodermal origin and is continuous with the skin at various body openings
such as the eyes, ears, inside the nose, inside the mouth, lip, the
urethral opening and the anus, frenulum of tongue, tongue. Some mucous
membranes secrete mucus, a thick protective fluid. The function of the
membrane is to stop pathogens and dirt from entering the body and to
prevent bodily tissues from becoming
dehydrated.
The following actions can help to
eliminate excess mucus and phlegm: Keeping the air moist.
Drinking plenty of Clean
Water. Applying a warm, wet washcloth to the face. Keeping the head
elevated. Not suppressing a cough. Discreetly getting rid of phlegm. Using
a
saline
nasal spray or rinse. Gargling with salt water.
Hold the breath for 2-3 seconds. Use
your stomach muscles to forcefully expel the air. Avoid a hacking cough or
merely clearing the throat. A deep cough is less tiring and more effective
in clearing mucus out of the lungs.
Postnasal Drip happens when your body starts
producing extra mucus.
Excess mucus moving into your stomach can cause nausea. Swallowing mucus
produced with a respiratory infection is not harmful. The stomach works to neutralise bacteria and recycle the other cellular debris. Some people do
report a queasy feeling in the stomach during such infections. Postnasal
drip makes you feel like you constantly want to clear your throat. It also
can trigger a cough, which often gets worse at night. A simple way to thin
it out is to
drink more water. Other
methods you can try include: Take a medication such as guaifenesin (Mucinex).
Use saline nasal sprays or irrigation , like a neti pot, to flush mucus,
bacteria, allergens, and other irritating things out of the sinuses. (Postnasal
drainage).
Phlegm is a slightly different substance than mucus.
It's a form of mucus produced by the lower airways — not by the nose and
sinuses — in response to
inflammation.
You may not notice phlegm unless you cough it up as a symptom of
bronchitis or pneumonia.
Histamine causes the tissue in your nasal passages to swell and
produce more, thinner mucus. This usually leads to a runny nose, as well
as sneezing, itching, and nasal stuffiness. Having thick mucus can make it
seem like more mucus is being produced and can create problems, such as
postnasal drip.
Laryngopharyngeal Reflux is a condition in which acid that is made in
the stomach travels up the esophagus (swallowing tube) and gets to the
throat. Symptoms include sore throat and an irritated larynx (voice box).
Treatments consist mostly of lifestyle changes.
Congestion tends to be
worse at night because it is harder for the nose and sinuses to
drain. This means that mucus pools in the head, making it harder to
breathe and potentially causing a sinus headache in the morning. Try
elevating the head on a few pillows to help the sinuses drain more easily.
Sinuses can be affected by atmospheric
pressure. When the outside
barometric pressure changes, it can create a difference between the
pressure in the outside air and the air in your sinuses, which can result
in pain. Barometric pressure changes can affect
inflammation
in the nose and sinuses, and then can be experienced by individuals as
pressure and/or pain. When experiencing aerosinusitis, the pressure
difference causes the mucosal lining of the sinuses to swell.
Aerosinusitis is a painful inflammation and sometimes bleeding of the
membrane of the paranasal sinus cavities, normally the frontal sinus. It
is caused by a difference in air pressures inside and outside the
cavities.
Mucus Causing or
Mucus-Thickening Foods to Consider Removing from your Diet:
Red meat, Milk, Cheese, Yogurt, Ice
Cream, Butter, Eggs, Bread, Pasta, Cereal, Bananas, Cabbage, Potatoes,
Corn and corn products, Soy products, Sweet desserts, Candy, Coffee, Tea,
Soda, Alcoholic beverages. (results may vary from person to person).
Foods that may Reduce Mucus: Salmon,
Tuna, Sardines, Flounder, Pumpkin, Pumpkin seeds, Grapefruit, Pineapple,
Watercress, Celery, Pickles, Onion, Garlic, Honey or Agar, Ginger,
Licorice, Berries, Echinacea, Pomegranate, Oral Zinc, Lemon, Cayenne
pepper, Chamomile, Olive oil, Broth, Decaf tea, Guava Tea.
Allergies.
Molecules found in mucus can thwart fungal infection. Harnessing the
strength of these specialized sugar molecules could help researchers
develop new antifungal drugs.
Flu - Pneumonia - Influenza
Pneumonia is an
inflammatory condition of the
lung affecting primarily the microscopic
air sacs known as
alveoli. Typical signs and
symptoms include a varying
severity and combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever,
and trouble breathing, depending on the underlying cause. Pneumonia is
usually caused by infection with viruses or bacteria and less commonly by
other microorganisms, certain medications and conditions such as
autoimmune diseases.
Risk factors include other lung diseases such as
cystic fibrosis, COPD, and asthma, diabetes, heart failure, a history of
smoking, a poor ability to cough such as following a stroke, or a weak
immune system. Diagnosis is often based on the symptoms and physical
examination. Chest X-ray, blood tests, and culture of the sputum may help
confirm the diagnosis. The disease may be classified by where it was
acquired with community, hospital, or health care associated pneumonia.
Vaccines to prevent certain types of pneumonia are available. Other
methods of prevention include
hand washing and not
smoking. Treatment depends on the underlying cause. Pneumonia believed to
be due to bacteria is treated with antibiotics.
Walking pneumonia is a non-medical term for a mild case of
pneumonia that isn't severe enough to require bed rest or hospitalization. If the pneumonia is
severe, the affected person is generally hospitalized.
Oxygen therapy may
be used if oxygen levels are low. Pneumonia affects approximately 450
million people globally (7% of the population) and results in about
4 million deaths per year.
Contagious.
Differences between the Flu and Pneumonia. The flu usually comes on
suddenly, while pneumonia takes longer to develop and can be a
complication from the flu. The flu is caused by a viral infection, while
pneumonia can be caused by either a bacterial infection or viral
infection.
Pneumonia is a lung infection,
it typically has more respiratory symptoms, while the flu is accompanied
by muscular aches and pains and fatigue. Flu symptoms include: Body aches
and pains, Dry cough, Extreme fatigue, Fever above 100.4 degrees,
Headache. Pneumonia symptoms include: Bluish fingernails and lips, Chills,
Confusion (most common in older adults), Coughing, Decreased appetite,
Extreme fatigue, Fever up to 105 degrees, Pain when breathing deeply,
Quick heartbeat and breathing, Sweating, Trouble catching your breath,
Wheezing (common in children), Yellow, greenish or bloody mucus when you
cough.
A
New Hypervirulent (Hypermucoviscous) variant of Klebsiella Pneumoniae has
emerged. Defining clinical features are the ability to cause serious,
life-threatening community-acquired infection in younger healthy hosts,
including liver abscess, pneumonia, meningitis and endophthalmitis and the
ability to metastatically spread, an unusual feature for enteric
Gram-negative bacilli in the non-immunocompromised. Despite infecting a
healthier population, significant morbidity and mortality occurs. Although
epidemiologic features are still being defined, colonization, particularly
intestinal colonization, appears to be a critical step leading to
infection. However the route of entry remains unclear.
Colds.
Hypervirulent means that something is
extremely infectious, malignant, or poisonous. Used of a disease or toxin.
Capable of causing disease by breaking down protective mechanisms of the
host. Used of a pathogen. Intensely irritating, obnoxious, or harsh.
Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis is an inflammation of the alveoli within
the lung caused by hypersensitivity to inhaled organic dusts. Sufferers
are commonly exposed to the dust by their occupation or hobbies. Symptoms
include fever, chills, malaise, cough, chest tightness, dyspnea, rash,
swelling and headache. Symptoms resolve within 12 hours to several days
upon cessation of exposure. (sometimes called
wet
lung).
Why virus hits some people harder than others. People's ability to
fight off the flu virus is determined not only by the subtypes of flu they
have had throughout their lives, but also by the sequence in which they
are been infected by the viruses. People whose first childhood exposure
was to H2N2, a close cousin of H1N1,
did not have a protective advantage when they later encountered H1N1. Most infected travelers are
undetectable, meaning that they
have no symptoms yet, and are unaware that
they have been exposed.
Vulnerabilities.
Alveolar macrophages help CD8+ T cells go (anti-)viral. Researchers
have found that antigen-specific
killer T
cells or CD8+ T cells rapidly expand in the lungs when primed by
antigen-presenting lung-resident
alveolar macrophages or AMs. This interaction helps protect against
viral infection and could form the basis for developing 'cell
transplant'-type vaccines in the future. The human immune system is a
highly complex network of cells, signals, and responses that is tightly
regulated to ensure that the body can fight off infection without damaging
its own tissues. Now, researchers from Japan report a new way in which the
immune system protects lung tissue from viral infections. CD8+ T cells
confer protective immunity against infection with respiratory viruses,
such as influenza A virus (IAV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), by killing infected cells. In order to target
the correct cells for killing, naive CD8+ T cells must be primed by
contact with antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which mediate the uptake of
virus-infected cells and present their antigens, in a process known as
cross-presentation. The primed CD8+ T cells then clonally expand and
differentiate into effector or long-lived antigen-specific memory T cells.
New study shows environmental and social factors contribute to higher
rates of pneumonia in children. A new study demonstrates that children
who are exposed to a certain type of
environmental
air pollution are more likely to contract
community acquired pneumonia, or CAP, and to be hospitalized for
longer periods of time. Social factors, including race and socioeconomic
status, were also found to be associated with living in
high-risk areas for CAP.
Why older people are more susceptible to the flu. An
inflammation-controlling lipid appears to weaken the lungs' immune
defenses. These macrophages are immune cells that attack invaders like the
flu virus and live in the small air sacs, or alveoli, inside the lungs.
Importantly, these cells appear to be lost with aging. Signs pointed to a
lipid immune modulator known as
prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) with wide ranging effects, from labor
induction in pregnancy to inflammation with arthritis. The study team
discovered there is more PGE2 in the lungs with age. This increase in
PGE2, Chen explained, acts on the macrophages in the lung, limiting their
overall health and ability to generate. The team suspects that the buildup
of PGE2 is yet another marker of a biological process called senescence,
which is often seen with age. Senescence serves as insurance against the
runaway division of damaged cells; cells that are senescent are no longer
able to replicate.
Oseltamivir is an
antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and influenza B
(flu), which is sold under the brand name
Tamiflu.
Many medical organizations recommend it in
people
who have complications or are
at high risk of
complications within 48 hours of first symptoms of infection. They
recommend it to prevent infection in those at high risk, but not the
general population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
recommends that clinicians use their discretion to treat those at lower
risk who present within 48 hours of first symptoms of infection. It is
taken by mouth, either as a pill or liquid. Common side effects include
vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and trouble sleeping. Other side effects may
include psychiatric symptoms and seizures. In the United States it is
recommended for influenza infection during pregnancy. It has been taken by
a small number of pregnant women without signs of problems. Dose
adjustment may be needed in those with kidney problems. Oseltamivir was
approved for medical use in the US in 1999. It was the first neuraminidase
inhibitor available by mouth. It is on the World Health Organization's
List of Essential Medicines but was downgraded to "complementary" status
in 2017. A generic version was approved in the US in 2016. In 2018, it was
the 93rd most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with
more than 8 million prescriptions.
Neuraminidase inhibitor are a class of drugs which block the
neuraminidase enzyme.
Neuraminidase or Sialidase enzymes are glycoside hydrolase enzymes
that cleave or cut the glycosidic linkages of neuraminic acids.
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome is characterized by widespread
inflammation in the lungs triggered by various pathologies such as trauma,
pneumonia, and sepsis. The hallmark of ARDS is diffuse injury to cells
which form the barrier of the microscopic air sacs of the lungs,
surfactant dysfunction, activation of the innate immune system response,
and dysfunction of the body's regulation of clotting and bleeding. In
effect, ARDS impairs the lungs' ability to exchange oxygen and carbon
dioxide with the blood across a thin layer of the lungs' microscopic
air sacs known as alveoli.
Lung cell transplant boosts healing after the flu in mice. The method
is also applicable in other models of lung injury. The transplant --
achieved by taking specialized lung cells called
Alveolar Type-Two Cells from the healthy animals and then allowing the
sick animals to simply breathe in the cells -- led to improved
blood-oxygen levels.
Pulmonary Alveolus is a hollow cup-shaped cavity found in the lung
parenchyma where gas exchange takes place. Lung alveoli are found in the
acini at the ends of the respiratory tree. They are located sparsely on
the respiratory bronchioles, and walls of the alveolar ducts, and are more
numerous in the blind-ended alveolar sacs. The acini mark the beginning of
the respiratory zone, are the basic units of respiration, with gas
exchange taking place in all the alveoli present. The alveolar membrane is
the gas exchange surface, surrounded by a network of capillaries. Across
the membrane oxygen is diffused into the capillaries and carbon dioxide
released from the capillaries into the alveoli to be breathed out.
Motility motility
is the ability to move spontaneously and actively, consuming energy in the
process. It is not to be confused with mobility, which describes the
ability of an object to be moved. Motility is genetically determined.
Klebsiella is a
genus of nonmotile, Gram-negative,
oxidase-negative, rod-shaped bacteria with a prominent
polysaccharide-based capsule. Klebsiella species are found everywhere in
nature. They can be found in water, soil, plants, insects, animals, and
humans.
Breathing
-
Lungs
Influenza commonly known as "
The
Flu", is an infectious disease caused by an influenza virus.
Symptoms can be mild to severe. The most common symptoms include: a high
fever,
runny nose, sore throat, muscle pains, headache, coughing, and
feeling tired. These symptoms typically begin two days after exposure to
the virus and most last less than a week. The
cough, however, may last for
more than two weeks. In children, there may be nausea and vomiting, but
these are not common in adults. Nausea and vomiting occur more commonly in
the unrelated infection gastroenteritis, which is sometimes inaccurately
referred to as "stomach flu" or "24-hour flu". Complications of influenza
may include viral pneumonia, secondary bacterial pneumonia, sinus
infections, and worsening of previous health problems such as asthma or
heart failure.
Flu Near
You -
Flu Cast -
Flu.gov -
Pandemic
1918
Influenza Pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It
was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. The number of
deaths was estimated to be at least
50 million
worldwide with about
675,000 occurring in the United States. 80,000 people died in U.S. of
flu last winter in 2018, highest death toll in 40 years.
Flu Researchers discover new mechanism for battling influenza.
Emergency Preparedness for Disease
Outbreaks (containment)
Influenza A virus kills
12,000 to
56,000 people in the
United States
annually. Human protein called
TRIM25,
also a "restriction factor, is a special
protein present in the
fastest-acting arm of the
immune system,
before spreading infection occurs. Restriction factors lie in wait, and
should a virus be detected in one of your cells, they have immediate
destructive ability. TRIM25 plays important role in the human immune
response to flu infection; and a protein called
NS1 present in all strains of the influenza A virus and shown to bind
TRIM25 to keep it from doing its job. TRIM25 acts earlier than previously
believed, latching on to a critical and unique flu virus structure like a
"molecular clamp" to keep the virus from replicating as soon as TRIM25
detects this unique structure. NS1 produced by the flu virus can block
this function of TRIM25, enabling flu to circumvent the immune response
and cause infection. Previous research had suggested that TRIM25 fought
off flu by switching on what is known as the "
interferon
response" -- a complex signaling pathway that arms cells through the body
to fight off pathogens. But not all strains of influenza block this
interferon signaling pathway. TRIM25 (previously believed to be present
only in the cell cytoplasm) is also present in the cell nucleus, which is
the same cellular location where flu replication occurs.
Estimated Influenza Disease Burden — United States (wiki)
Flu Season
Hospitalizations
Deaths2010 – 2011
(270,000 – 350,000) (32,000 – 51,000)
2011 –
2012 (130,000 – 190,000)
(11,000 – 23,000)
2012 – 2013 (530,000 –
680,000) (37,000 – 57,000)
2013 – 2014
(320,000 – 390,000) (33,000 – 50,000)
2014 –
2015 (540,000 – 680,000)
(44,000 – 64,000)
2015 – 2016 (220,000 –
480,000) (17,000 – 35,000)
2016 – 2017
(380,000 – 860,000) (29,000 – 61,000)
2017 –
2018* (620,000 – 1,400,000) (46,000 – 95,000)
2018 –
2019* (387,283 – 766,472) (26,339 –
52,664)
During the 2019-2020 influenza season, CDC estimates that influenza
was associated with 38 million illnesses, 18 million medical visits,
405,000 hospitalizations, and
22,000 deaths.
The influenza burden was higher in young children (0-4 years) and adults
(18-49 years) compared with a recent season with the 2017-2018 season, a
recent season with high severity, and provides evidence to support how
severe
seasonal influenza can be at any age.
Covid.
Natural compound coupled with specific gut microbes may prevent severe flu.
A
Gut microbe can prevent severe
flu infections in mice, likely by breaking down naturally occurring
compounds called
flavonoids, which
are commonly found in foods such as black tea, red wine and blueberries.
Desaminotyrosine or DAT kept the
immune
system from harming the lung tissue.
2022,
highly contagious bird flu virus triggering the
deaths of some 52.7 million animals. The
highly pathogenic avian influenza has ravaged farm flocks and chicken
yards in 46 states since February, when the first cases were reported in
commercial flocks. The vast majority are being
culled
through flock
depopulation, to try to stop the virus from spreading. That includes
millions of chickens and turkeys in barns and backyards that had been
raised to provide eggs or meat.
2022 Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Wild Birds.
The first U.S. case of a person infected with avian influenza A or
H5N1 virus was reported in April in Colorado. The patient recovered after
experiencing a few days of fatigue.
Infections
Infection is the physical condition
or pathological state resulting from the
invasion of the body by
pathogenic
microorganisms. An
incident in which an infectious
disease is
transmitted.
Hospital Infections -
Pandemic -
Contagion -
Bacteria -
Inflammation -
Immune System
Infection is the
invasion of an
organism's body tissues by disease-causing agents, their multiplication,
and the reaction of host tissues to these organisms and the toxins they
produce.
Infectious disease, also known as
transmissible disease or
communicable disease, is illness resulting from an infection. Infections
are caused by infectious agents including
viruses, viroids, prions,
bacteria, nematodes such as parasitic roundworms and pinworms, arthropods
such as ticks, mites, fleas, and lice, fungi such as ringworm, and other macroparasites such as tapeworms and other helminths. Hosts can fight
infections using their
immune system. Mammalian hosts react to infections
with an innate response, often involving
inflammation, followed by an
adaptive response.
Ignorance is
one of the most deadliest infections in the world, and knowledge is the
cure.
Anaerobic Infection are caused by
anaerobic bacteria.
Obligately anaerobic bacteria do not grow on solid media in room air
(0.04% carbon dioxide and 21% oxygen); facultatively anaerobic bacteria
can grow in the presence or absence of air. Microaerophilic bacteria do
not grow at all aerobically or grow poorly, but grow better under 10%
carbon dioxide or anaerobically.
Anaerobic bacteria can be divided into
strict anaerobes that can not grow in the presence of more than 0.5%
oxygen and moderate anaerobic
bacteria that are able of growing between 2
and 8% oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria usually do not possess catalase, but
some can generate superoxide dismutase which protects them from
oxygen.
Respiratory Tract Infection refers to any of a number of infectious
diseases involving the
respiratory tract. An infection of this type is
normally further classified as an
upper respiratory tract infection (URI
or URTI) or a lower respiratory tract infection (LRI or LRTI). Lower
respiratory infections, such as
pneumonia, tend to be far more serious
conditions than upper respiratory infections, such as the common
cold.
Air
Pollution.
Most infants receiving ICU-level care for RSV. Most infants admitted
to the intensive care unit or high acuity unit for
respiratory syncytial virus or RSV infections during fall 2022, were
previously healthy and had no underlying medical condition and were born
at term, according to a new study.
Subclinical Infection is an infection
that, being subclinical, is nearly or completely
asymptomatic
with no signs or
symptoms. A subclinically infected person is thus an asymptomatic carrier
of a microbe, intestinal parasite, or virus that usually is a pathogen
causing illness, at least in some individuals. Many pathogens spread by
being silently carried in this way by some of their host population. Such
infections occur both in humans and nonhuman animals. An example of an
asymptomatic infection is a mild common cold that is not noticed by the
infected individual. Since subclinical infections often occur without
eventual overt sign, their existence is only identified by microbiological
culture or DNA techniques such as polymerase chain reaction.
Hospital Infections -
No
Symptoms
Contagious Infectious Disease is the
invasion of an organism's body tissues by
disease-causing agents, their
multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to these organisms and
the toxins they produce. Infectious disease, also known as
transmissible
disease or
communicable disease, is illness resulting from an infection.
Infections are caused by infectious agents including viruses, viroids,
prions, bacteria, nematodes such as parasitic roundworms and pinworms,
arthropods such as ticks, mites, fleas, and lice, fungi such as ringworm,
and other macroparasites such as tapeworms and other helminths. Hosts can
fight infections using their immune system. Mammalian hosts react to
infections with an innate response, often involving inflammation, followed
by an adaptive response. Specific medications used to treat infections
include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, antiprotozoals, and
antihelminthics. Infectious diseases resulted in 9.2 million deaths in
2013 (about 17% of all deaths). The branch of medicine that focuses on
infections is referred to as infectious disease.
Co-Infection is the simultaneous infection of a host by multiple
pathogen species. In virology, coinfection includes simultaneous infection
of a single cell by two or more virus particles. An example is the
coinfection of liver cells with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis D virus,
which can arise incrementally by initial infection followed by
superinfection. Global prevalence or incidence of coinfection among humans
is unknown, but it is thought to be commonplace, sometimes more common
than single infection. Coinfection with helminths affects around 800
million people worldwide. Coinfection is of particular human health
importance because pathogen species can interact within the host. The net
effect of coinfection on human health is thought to be negative.
Interactions can have either positive or negative effects on other
parasites. Under positive parasite interactions, disease transmission and
progression are enhanced and this is also known as syndemism. Negative
parasite interactions include microbial interference when one bacterial
species suppresses the virulence or colonisation of other bacteria, such
as Pseudomonas aeruginosa suppressing pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus
colony formation. The general patterns of ecological interactions between
parasite species are unknown, even among common coinfections such as those
between sexually transmitted infections. However, network analysis of a
food web of coinfection in humans suggests that there is greater potential
for interactions via shared food sources than via the immune system. A
globally common coinfection involves tuberculosis and HIV. In some
countries, up to 80% of tuberculosis patients are also HIV-positive. The
potential for dynamics of these two infectious diseases to be linked has
been known for decades. Other common examples of coinfections are AIDS,
which involves coinfection of end-stage HIV with opportunistic parasites
and polymicrobial infections like Lyme disease with other diseases.
Coinfections sometimes can epitomize a zero sum game of bodily resources,
and precise viral quantitation demonstrates children co-infected with
rhinovirus and respiratory syncytial virus, metapneumovirus or
parainfluenza virus have lower nasal viral loads than those with
rhinovirus alone.
Super-Infection is a second infection superimposed on an earlier one,
especially by a different microbial agent of exogenous or endogenous
origin, that is resistant to the treatment being used against the first
infection. Examples of this in bacteriology are the overgrowth of
endogenous Clostridium difficile that occurs following treatment with a
broad-spectrum antibiotic, and pneumonia or sepsis from Pseudomonas
aeruginosa in some immunocompromised patients. In virology, the definition
is slightly different. Superinfection is the process by which a cell that
has previously been infected by one virus gets co-infected with a
different strain of the virus, or another virus, at a later point in time.
Viral superinfections may be resistant to the antiviral drug or drugs that
were being used to treat the original infection. Viral superinfections may
also be less susceptible to the host's immune response. Recent metagenomic
analyses have demonstrated that the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 can be
associated with superinfection and colonization of other pathogens, such
as rhinovirus species and Moraxella spp. In parasitology, superinfection
is reinfection of the same genus of parasite, as a person infected by
Fasciola hepatica again infected by Fasciola gigantica.
Super Bugs.
Viral
Load is a measurement of the amount of a
virus in
an organism, typically in the bloodstream, usually stated in virus
particles per milliliter. A numerical expression of the quantity of virus in a given
volume of fluid; sputum and blood plasma being two bodily fluids. For
example, the viral load of norovirus can be determined from run-off water
on garden produce. Norovirus has not only prolonged viral shedding and has
the ability to survive in the environment but a minuscule infectious dose
is required to produce infection in humans: less than 100 viral particles.
Viral load is often expressed as viral particles, or infectious particles
per mL depending on the type of assay. A higher viral burden, titre, or
viral load often correlates with the severity of an active viral
infection. The quantity of virus / mL can be calculated by estimating the
live amount of virus in an involved fluid. For example, it can be given in
RNA copies per millilitre of blood plasma. Tracking viral load is used to
monitor therapy during chronic viral infections, and in immunocompromised
patients such as those recovering from bone marrow or solid organ
transplantation. Currently, routine testing is available for HIV-1,
cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus. Viral load
monitoring for HIV is of particular interest in the treatment of people
with HIV, as this is continually discussed in the context of management of
HIV/AIDS.
Sepsis -
Bacteria
A potential target for developing broad-spectrum antiviral therapies.
Study finds inhibiting enzyme boosts the innate immune response.
Researchers have identified a promising strategy for development of
broad-spectrum antiviral therapies that
centers around promoting a strong immune response capable of stopping a
number of viruses in their infectious tracks. a key enzyme in that
process, called
NSUN2,
to stop the RNA change. Suppressing NSUN2 using gene knockdown techniques
and experimental agents, they found, sets off a cascade of cell activities
that leads to robust production of type 1 interferon, one of the most
potent fighters in the innate antiviral response.
Potential secret to viral resistance unearthed. Scientists have
unearthed a secret that may explain why some people are able to resist
viral infections, having screened the immune systems of women exposed to
hepatitis C (HCV) through contaminated anti-D transfusions given over 40
years ago in Ireland. The extraordinary work has wide-ranging implications
from improving our fundamental understanding of viral resistance to the
potential design of therapies to treat infected people. Between 1977-79 in
Ireland, several thousand women were exposed to the hepatitis C virus
through contaminated anti-D, which is a medication made using plasma from
donated blood and given to Rhesus negative women who are pregnant with a
Rhesus positive fetus. The medication prevents the development of
antibodies that could be dangerous in subsequent pregnancies. Some of the
anti-D used during the 1977-79 period was contaminated with hepatitis C.
We hypothesised that women who seemed to resist HCV infection must have an
enhanced innate immune response, which is the ancient part of the immune
system that acts as a first line of defence. By comparing the response of
the resistant women to those who became infected, we found that resistant
donors had an enhanced type I interferon response after stimulation. Type
I interferons are a key family of antiviral immune mediators that play an
important role in defence against viruses including hepatitis C and
SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19.
Fungal
Infection is a
fungus that
invades the tissue can cause a
disease that's
confined to the skin, spreads into tissue, bones, and organs, or affects
the whole body. Fungal infections often start in the lungs or on the skin.
Starving fungi could save millions of lives each year. Researchers
have identified a potentially new approach to treating lethal fungal
infections that claim more than 1.6 million lives each year. Despite high
levels of
phosphate in the human body, the research showed that the infecting
fungi are very poor at absorbing it. This causes the fungi to produce more
transporters to try to bring in more phosphate -- a process known as the '
phosphate
starvation response'. By blocking this phosphate starvation response
-- and stopping the fungi from producing more transporters to get more
nutrients -- the research team starved the fungi, preventing their spread
of infection in mice.
Potential novel breakthrough treatment for fungal infections. Fungal
infections are killing thousands of Americans each year, some with a
morbidity rate of nearly 80%. To make matters worse, only a handful of
antifungal treatments are available, and even those are becoming less
effective as fungi become more resistant. However, researchers recently
published findings indicating that a novel breakthrough treatment may have
been discovered.
Toxic Shock Syndrome is an infection that usually occurs when bacteria
enter your body through an opening in your skin, such as a cut, sore, or
other wound. Toxic Shock Syndrome is a condition caused by bacterial
toxins. Symptoms may include fever, rash, skin peeling, and low blood
pressure. There may also be symptoms related to the specific underlying
infection such as mastitis, osteomyelitis, necrotising fasciitis, or
pneumonia.
Hijacker parasite blocked from infiltrating blood. World's most
widespread malaria
parasite Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) infects humans by
hijacking a protein the body cannot live without.
Infectious Diseases Emergency
Preparedness Plan.
Bioelectricity new weapon to fight dangerous infection. Drugs already
approved for other uses in people help frogs survive deadly E. coli by
changing their cells’ electrical charge.
Meningococcal Disease refers to any sickness caused by
Neisseria meningitidis. The infection can lead to both
meningitis and a serious infection of the bloodstream called
septicemia, or blood poisoning.
How the brain responds to infection and controls symptoms of sickness.
Researchers have discovered a small population of neurons near the base of
the brain that can induce symptoms of
sickness,
including
fever, appetite loss, and
warm-seeking behavior.
When someone gets an infection, most people think it's the immune system
kicking into gear when they feel some of the body's natural defenses like
a
fever, chills, or
fatigue. What most
people don't know is that it's actually the brain behind all of this. The
nervous system talks to the immune system to figure out that the body has
an infection and then orchestrates a series of behavioral and
physiological alterations that manifest as the unpleasant symptoms of
sickness.
Scientists discover small RNA that regulates bacterial infection.
Researchers have identified the major mechanism behind the transition
between chronic and acute P. aeruginosa infections. Their research
findings can inform the development of future treatments for
life-threatening acute infections.
DNA Virus
is a virus that has
DNA as its genetic material and
replicates using a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase. The nucleic acid is
usually double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) but may also be single-stranded DNA (ssDNA).
R Gene are genes in plant genomes
that convey plant disease resistance against pathogens by producing R
proteins.
Bacterial DNA
Bacteria provide immunity against giant viruses. Chlamydia protect
protozoa from deadly viral infections.
Amoebae
receive surprising support in defense against
viruses.
The bacteria they are infected with prevent them from being destroyed by
giant viruses. Microbiologists have
investigated how a virus infection proceeds when the amoebae are
simultaneously infected with
chlamydia. The research team shows for the first time that
intracellular bacteria known as
symbionts
protect their host against viruses. Amoebae are protists, i.e.
single-celled microorganisms with
a cell nucleus. Protists play a key role in food webs and ecosystem
processes. Consequently, the results of the study suggest that the
interaction between symbionts and viruses influence the flow of nutrients
in ecosystems.
Plasmid is a small DNA molecule
within a cell that is physically separated from a chromosomal DNA and can
replicate independently. They are most commonly found in bacteria as small
circular, double-stranded
DNA molecules; however, plasmids are sometimes
present in archaea and eukaryotic organisms. In nature, plasmids often
carry genes that may benefit the survival of the organism, for example
antibiotic resistance. While the chromosomes are big and contain all the
essential genetic information for living under normal conditions, plasmids
usually are very small and contain only additional genes that may be
useful to the organism under certain situations or particular conditions.
Artificial plasmids are widely used as vectors in molecular cloning,
serving to drive the replication of recombinant DNA sequences within host
organisms.
The Role of Plasmids
Malaise is a feeling of general
discomfort, uneasiness or pain, often the first indication of an infection
or other disease.
Vaccine Dangers -
Antibiotics
Travel Health Advice
Repeated infections associated with increased risk of some
neurodegenerative diseases. People with hospital-treated infections in
early- and mid-life had the greatest risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
diseases later in life.
World Health Organization -
Center For Disease Control (CDC)
Infectious Diseases Emergency
Preparedness Plan.
Biosecurity is a set of preventive
measures designed to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious
diseases in crops and livestock, quarantined pests, invasive alien
species, and living modified organisms.
Disease Outbreaks -
Virus Outbreaks Map
Antibody-Based Protection HIV -
Aids -
Colds
ZMapp is an experimental
biopharmaceutical drug comprising three chimeric monoclonal antibodies
under development as a treatment for Ebola virus disease.
Monoclonal Antibody
Hospital Infections
Engineered Bacteria Target
Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens
Otorhinolaryngology is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that
deals with conditions of the
ear, nose, and throat
or ENT and related structures of the head and neck. Doctors who specialize
in this area are called otorhinolaryngologists, otolaryngologists, ENT
doctors, ENT surgeons, or head and neck surgeons. Patients seek treatment
from an otorhinolaryngologist for diseases of the ear, nose, throat, base
of the skull, and for the surgical management of cancers and benign tumors of the head and neck.
Serology is the scientific study of
serum and other bodily fluids. In practice, the term usually refers to the
diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum. Such antibodies are
typically formed in response to an infection (against a given
microorganism), against other foreign proteins (in response, for example,
to a mismatched blood transfusion), or to one's own proteins (in instances
of
autoimmune disease).
Researchers develop a novel antibiotic cement to treat bone infections.
Specialized drug-device delivery system demonstrates high efficacy,
potency against resistant strains, and promises decreased bacterial
resistance development. Each year, 700,000 people die due to
antibiotic resistance. A growing global
population unfortunately generates a growing resistance to established
antibiotic treatments -- a threat that has been
met with insufficient funding and dwindling inspiration, as commercial
incentives for developing new antibiotics have fallen. A new study
addresses this growing problem in antibiotic development using a novel,
interdisciplinary approach to construct a robust,
computer-program-generated library of antibiotics and to identify an
effective antibiotic for targeted use in a bone cement matrix.
Immune System can effect Social Behavior - Interferon Gamma is a
cytokine that is critical for innate and adaptive immunity against viral,
some bacterial and protozoal infections.
Cytokine
is important in
cell signaling. Their
release has an effect on the behavior of cells around them. It can be said
that cytokines are involved in autocrine signalling, paracrine signalling
and endocrine signalling as immunomodulating agents. Their definite
distinction from hormones is still part of ongoing research. Cytokines
include chemokines, interferons, interleukins, lymphokines, and tumour
necrosis factors but generally not hormones or growth factors (despite
some overlap in the terminology). Cytokines are produced by a broad range
of cells, including immune cells like macrophages, B lymphocytes, T
lymphocytes and mast cells, as well as endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and
various stromal cells; a given cytokine may be produced by more than one
type of cell. They act through receptors, and are especially important in
the
immune system; cytokines modulate the balance between humoral and
cell-based immune responses, and they regulate the maturation, growth, and
responsiveness of particular cell populations. Some cytokines enhance or
inhibit the action of other cytokines in complex ways. They are different
from hormones, which are also important cell signaling molecules, in that
hormones circulate in less variable concentrations and hormones tend to be
made by specific kinds of cells. They are important in health and disease,
specifically in host responses to infection, immune responses,
inflammation, trauma, sepsis, cancer, and reproduction.
Cytokine are a broad and loose category of small
proteins (~5–20 kDa) that
are important in cell signaling. Their release has an effect on the
behavior of cells around them. It can be said that cytokines are involved
in autocrine signalling, paracrine signalling and
endocrine signalling
as immunomodulating agents. Their definite distinction from hormones is
still part of ongoing research. Cytokines include chemokines, interferons,
interleukins, lymphokines, and tumour necrosis factors but generally not
hormones or growth factors (despite some overlap in the terminology).
Cytokines are produced by a broad range of cells, including
immune cells like macrophages, B
lymphocytes, T lymphocytes and mast cells, as well as endothelial cells,
fibroblasts, and various stromal cells; a given cytokine may be produced
by more than one type of cell. They act through receptors, and are
especially important in the immune system; cytokines modulate the balance
between humoral and cell-based immune responses, and they regulate the
maturation, growth, and responsiveness of particular cell populations.
Some cytokines enhance or inhibit the action of other cytokines in complex
ways. They are different from
hormones, which are
also important
cell signaling
molecules, in that hormones circulate in less variable concentrations and
hormones tend to be made by specific kinds of cells. They are important in
health and disease, specifically in host responses to infection, immune
responses, inflammation, trauma, sepsis, cancer, and reproduction.
Interferon are a
group of signaling
proteins
made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several
pathogens, such as
viruses, bacteria, parasites, and also tumor cells. In
a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing
nearby cells to heighten their
anti-viral defenses.
IFNs belong to the large class of proteins known as cytokines, molecules
used for communication between cells to trigger the protective defenses of
the immune system that help eradicate pathogens. Interferons are named for
their ability to "interfere" with viral replication by protecting cells
from virus infections. IFNs also have various other functions: they
activate immune cells, such as natural killer cells and macrophages; they
increase host defenses by up-regulating antigen presentation by virtue of
increasing the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)
antigens. Certain symptoms of infections, such as fever, muscle pain and
"flu-like symptoms", are also caused by the production of IFNs and other
cytokines. More than twenty distinct IFN genes and proteins have been
identified in animals, including humans. They are typically divided among
three classes: Type I IFN, Type II IFN, and Type III IFN. IFNs belonging
to all three classes are important for fighting viral infections and for
the regulation of the immune system.
Interferon-Stimulated Gene is a gene that can be expressed in response
to stimulation by interferon. Interferons bind to receptors on the surface
of a cell, initiating protein signaling pathways within the cell. This
interaction leads to the expression of a subset of genes involved in the
innate immune system response. ISGs are commonly expressed in response to
viral infection, but also during bacterial infection and in the presence of parasites.
Scientists have identified a set of human genes that fight SARS-CoV-2
infection, the virus that causes
COVID-19. We
found that 65 interferon-stimulated genes controlled SARS-CoV-2 infection,
including some that
inhibited the virus' ability to enter cells, some that
suppressed manufacture of the RNA that is the virus's lifeblood, and a
cluster of genes that inhibited assembly of the virus.
Super Immunity -
Exemptions
The common cold might protect you from coronavirus. Interferons are
produced in response to infections by all types of viruses, but they’re
produced much faster and in greater quantities in response to rhinovirus
compared to other respiratory viruses.
Besides
SARS-CoV-2, there are four other coronaviruses in widespread
circulation: NL63, 229E, OC43 and HKU1. The first two have likely been
infecting people for centuries, and the latter two for decades, perhaps
longer. They're related to SARS-CoV-2 but are not the same. Each year, one
or more of these other coronaviruses sweeps through the U.S. — in schools,
day care centers, churches and offices — and makes people sick. Many, many
people. These
coronaviruses are so common that by the time a child starts
kindergarten, the youngster has likely been infected with all four of
them.
these coronaviruses cause about 10% to 30% of all
colds in adults, studies have found. Here's the sneaky thing about
these coronaviruses: Just because you caught one of them last year doesn't
mean you're protected from that same coronavirus infection the next year.
Having
higher antibody levels prevented people
from developing symptoms altogether and shortened the time they spread the
virus.
Human Rhinovirus Infection Blocks Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Coronavirus 2 Replication Within the Respiratory Epithelium:
Implications for COVID-19 Epidemiology. We show that human rhinovirus
triggers an
interferon response that
blocks SARS-CoV-2 replication.
Mathematical simulations show that this virus-virus interaction is likely
to have a population-wide effect as an increasing prevalence of
rhinovirus will reduce the number of new coronavirus
disease 2019 cases.
Why do some people
never show symptoms when infected with covid-19?
Why are some people more vulnerable to covd-19?
Gene mutation may explain why some don't get sick from COVID-19.
People who contract COVID-19 but never develop symptoms -- the so-called
super dodgers -- may have a genetic ace up their sleeve. They're more than
twice as likely as those who become symptomatic to carry a specific gene
variation that helps them obliterate the virus, according to a new study.
The secret lies with the
human leukocyte antigen, or protein markers that signal the immune
system. A mutation in one of the genes coding for HLA appears to help
virus-killing
T cells identify SARS-CoV-2
and launch a lighting attack. The T cells of some people who carry this
variant can identify the novel coronavirus, even if they have never
encountered it before, thanks to its resemblance to the seasonal cold
viruses they already know. The mutation -- HLA-B*15:01 -- is quite common,
carried by about 10% of the study's population. It doesn't prevent the
virus from infecting cells but, rather, prevents people from developing
any symptoms. That includes a runny nose or even a barely noticeable sore
throat. UCSF researchers found that 20% of people in the study who
remained asymptomatic after infection carried at least one copy of the
HLA-B*15:01 variant, compared to 9% of those who reported symptoms. Those
who carried two copies of the variant were far more likely -- more than
eight times -- to avoid feeling sick.
Why are some people immune to covid-19?
Some people, even before being vaccinated, are really
good at clearing the coronavirus from their respiratory tract and do
it so quickly that the virus
never reaches
detectable levels. Exposure to another coronavirus could be protecting
people against SARS-CoV-2.
A study presented striking evidence that prior exposure to another
coronavirus can prepare the immune system to fight off
SARS-CoV-2. Immune
cells originally made to fight another coronavirus can help with immunity.
An analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that
at least 58% of children under age 18 — that's about
42 million children — had been infected
with SARS-CoV-2 as of Jan. 22, according to antibody testing. Yet the U.S.
has recorded only about 13 million pediatric cases. So many coronavirus
cases among kids have gone unnoticed, unreported or undetected. During the
first wave of the pandemic, when vaccines weren't available, healthcare
workers repeatedly tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 despite being heavily
exposed. Inside the blood of 20 health care workers, a team found a
special group of T cells that could do just that, recognize and stop
SARS-CoV-2. These special cells are called
cross-reactive T cells. The cells are called cross-reactive because
they recognize several types of coronaviruses. So just like cross-training
involves several sports, cross-reactive cells work on several different
viruses. Estimates about these cross-reactive T cells occur in only 10% to 15%
of people. First, antibodies come in and protect you against infection,
and then
T cells help clean up the infected cells. T cells aren't the only
immune component that can do this cross-reacting.
Antibodies made to fight off seasonal coronavirus can also recognize
SARS-CoV-2. Evidence that the immune system brings these seasonal
coronavirus antibodies back into action when you're exposed to SARS-CoV-2.
Even if a persons immune system doesn't have cross-reactive antibodies or
cross-reactive T cells to protect her from SARS-CoV-2, there's a 100%
guarantee that a person has another protective device. It's called the
RIG-I pathway. Inside your respiratory cells, tiny molecules, called
RIG-I receptors, recognize and bind to a virus's genome (specifically
its RNA). Once a RIG-I receptor sticks to a piece of viral RNA, it
launches a massive immune response. It tries to limit the viral infection
as well as warn its neighbors so other cells can also go into an antiviral
response, and not get infected too. This response kills the infected cell,
protects surrounding cells from infection and possibly brings in immune
cells (like T cells) to help control the infection.
There's
evidence the RIG-I pathway can clear out a SARS-CoV-2 infection before
viral loads reach detectable levels or the immune system even has a chance
to make antibodies. Children have more RIG-I receptors inside their nasal
cells. And this higher concentration helps them respond more quickly to an
infection. But in a study, the
T cells appear at a very early stage of the
infection, before the body can make antibodies. In contrast, in blood
samples taken from health care workers who did test positive for
SARS-CoV-2, these cross-reactive T cells were missing or present at much
lower levels. People who had higher levels of these cross-reactive T cells
at the baseline didn't get infected, versus the group who didn't. These
special T cells likely arose in the health care
workers before the pandemic began. Their immune systems likely
generated them when the workers were infected with another of the several
coronaviruses that can strike humans. Most likely candidate would be the
common cold coronaviruses that we're all exposed to.
About 30% of colds are caused by four other
coronaviruses known as seasonal coronaviruses (because they
typically come around in winter and cause winter colds). These viruses
circulate around the world and have been making people sick for decades,
perhaps even centuries. Basically, every kid catches all four of them
before age 5 or 6. Even though these seasonal coronaviruses typically
don't cause more than a runny nose and cough, your body still has to clear
out the virus to prevent it from turning into a more serious problem. To
do that, the immune system makes antibodies and T cells that recognize
these coronaviruses.
Some of these T cells stick
around and watch out for the virus, or a similar one to return
again.