Coronavirus- COVID-19

SARS

-2002-2004 -Bats to masks palm civets to humans -8000 infected- 600-800 dead

MERS

-2012-? (outbreaks ongoing) -Bat to camel to human -2575 cases; 886 deaths

COVID-19

-Bats (horseshoe) to ??? (pangolians?) to humans --Current sequence data comparison -September 27, 2023 --771,151,224 cases --6,960,783 deaths

Coronavirus

-Common animal virus -Many strains of Coronavirus that circulate constantly -For most species-specific coronaviruses, the disease process is mild -When a coronavirus from one species gains the ability to infect a new species (an emerging virus) the disease can be severe

COVID-19 disease

-Flu-like, loss of taste/smell -Destruction of lung tissue -Severe pneumonia- like symptoms -Shortness of breath -Acute respiratory syndrome (in some cases) -Heart attack-like symptoms (rare) -Acerbation of underlying disease- heart disease, lung problems -Secondary infections

Things I hear/see

-Folks with underlying conditions die --yes... true for most infectious diseases

Why bats?

-Great viral reservoirs --Similar physiology ---Internal nose shape of horseshoe ---Infects same cells --High core body temp. with flight --Special immune systems ---Interferon always on ---Evolved with flight inflammation

SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis

-Incubation period 2-14 days -Like other human Coronaviruses, target cells are respiratory epithelial cells -Receptor is Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2( ACE-2) -ACE-2 is present in lower respiratory tract cells (deep in the lungs)

SARS-CoV-2

-Large virion- 120-160 nm, (+) ssRNA genome, 30 kb Multiplication cycle

Coronaviruses in humans

-Many strains that circulate constantly and cause the the common cold (15-30% of colds) --Most of the rest are rhinovirus infections -Deadly strains have emerged previously- which did not persist or don't spread well --Sars-CoV- disease SARS-2002 --MERS-CoV- Disease MERS-2012 -SARS-CoV-2- Disease COVID-19 is different

Prevention

-Mask, social distance, avoid poorly ventilated, wash hands, avoid sick folks -Vaccine- make artificial immunity to spike protein --mRNA version- Pfizer, Moderna --Viral vector version- J&J

Things I hear/see pt2

-Vaccine was rushed --mRNA vaccine technology-1993 -Vaccine causes COVID-19 --How? No virus in vaccine -Vaccine makes women infertile --Think why not true, also vaccine trial evidence -Dangerous things in vaccine --Look it up -Vaccine does not work 100% --Nope... none work 100% of time --Cannot

Why is COVID-19 such a problem

-Virus better adapted to human receptors -80% of cases have few or mild symptoms -About 30-50% many have no symptoms --Spread?... Yes! 50% of infected spread -1,178,404 have died in U.S. (Since 2020)