Birds alone have been found to carry as many as 15 viral strains. A virus has no cell membrane, no metabolism, no respiration and cannot replicate outside of a living cell. Once inside, it reprograms the cell with its DNA or RNA and multiplies on mass, bursting through the cell with a thousand or more new virus strands seeking new cells to invade. If two viruses invade the same cell a bird virus and a human virus, for instance their DNA can combine to form a new virus, a potentially virulent one.
The same is true if two animal viruses combine and jump species to humans. In the lytic cycle, the virus focuses on reproduction. It invades a cell, inserts its DNA and creates thousands of copies of itself, bursts through the cell membrane, killing the cell, and each new viral strand invades new cells replicating the process.
In the lysogenic cycle, viruses remain dormant within its host cells. The virus may remain dormant for years. Herpes and chickenpox are good examples. Chicken pox can cause shingles in later life when the dormant virus reactivates. Our bodies fight off invading organisms, including viruses, all the time. Our first line of defense is the skin, mucous, and stomach acid. If we inhale a virus, mucous traps it and tries to expel it. If it is swallowed, stomach acid may kill it. If the virus gets past the first line of defense, the innate immune system comes into play.
The phagocytes wage war and release interferon to protect surrounding cells. If they cannot destroy the invading force, the phagocytes call the lymphocytes into play. Our lymphocytes, T cells and B cells, retain a memory of any previous infection that was serious enough to bring them into the battle. Antibodies were formed and the body knows how to fight any infection it recognizes. This is how vaccinations work. The body has fought a similar infection. But viruses can mutate, sometimes so much that they body cannot recognize them as a similar infection they fought in the past.
They can also be so fast acting, they can kill before the lymphocytes are brought into play. Antiviral medications do not directly kill the virus; they trap it within the cell, keeping it from reproducing. They kill bacteria, not viruses. And they kill good bacteria that we need to keep our gut in balance.
Taking antibiotics when you have a viral infection can cause an immediate overgrowth of Candida, giving the immune system an additional system-wide infection to deal with when it needs all of its resources to fight a viral infection.
Also remember that any virus you might already have has the potential to spread to others in the same fashion. Esper says. Good hand hygiene is incredibly important when it comes to babies and small children too, especially when it comes to helping prevent the spread of RSV.
This is where the introduction of alcohol-based rubs , especially for the younger age groups, works well. Also be sure to tread carefully when it comes to guzzling down vitamin C drinks and pills.
The jury is still out whether or not these products can actually help you kick a cold or flu faster. The FDA continues to warn consumers about hand sanitizers that contain methanol, also called wood alcohol. Methanol is very toxic and should never be used in hand sanitizer.
If absorbed through the skin or swallowed, methanol can cause serious health problems, such as seizures and blindness, or even death. Before you buy hand sanitizer or use some you already have at home, check this list to see if the hand sanitizer may possibly have methanol. Continue checking this list often, as it is being updated routinely. The FDA has also expanded the list to include hand sanitizers that contain other dangerous ingredients and products that have less than the required amount of the active ingredient.
The FDA advises consumers not to use hand sanitizers produced by the manufacturers identified on the list. Learn how to find your hand sanitizer on the list and how to safely use hand sanitizer.
Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. The goal of social distancing is to keep people far enough away from each other to prevent the spread of infectious agents, such as viruses.
Social distancing can help stop the spread of viruses, reduce the danger to people most at risk of severe symptoms, and potentially lessen the strain on the health system. Although research is limited and mainly model-based, some studies have found that social distancing does lead to a reduction in the rate of infection.
However, delayed implementation and poor compliance can reduce its effectiveness. Even if social distancing is effective in stopping the spread of disease, people can still experience negative emotional and psychological effects, such as increased stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Hospitals are under extreme pressure to control viruses.
Not only do unwell people go to the hospital, potentially bringing viruses with them as they seek treatment, but also many hospital patients are already sick and frail. The CDC-recommended techniques that hospitals use to stop the spread of viruses include:.
In light of the recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, striving to stop the spread of viruses is more important than ever.
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