O/T Coronavirus Thread

[jocksgloves]

Cant help thinking that 50 years ago , we'd have just weathered it.

[howdydoo]

Cant help thinking that 50 years ago , we'd have just weathered it.

Yeah, you would.

Issue you have now is that you're 50 years older.

Look after thi'sen.

[millertop]

Until further notice all Prem/EFL clubs will be avoiding the handshakes but still allowed to spit especially Guardiola

[WanChaiMiller]

Cant help thinking that 50 years ago , we'd have just weathered it.

100 years ago it killed 50m.

[gru]

How many have flu be over how many have coronavirus. Need Cheltenham on next week. The greatest show on turf, always lives up to that.

[Brin]

Hasn't this kind of thing been around forever and it's just a new strain of Influenza?

It seems those with respiratory problems are being the worst affected and have the most death rates.

[avondalemiller]

...scaremongering at it's best.........................

Can't remember all this news when we had other types of Flu.....

[great_fire]

Hasn't this kind of thing been around forever and it's just a new strain of Influenza?

It seems those with respiratory problems are being the worst affected and have the most death rates.

More like a type of pneumonia so make dangerous than flu.

[KerrAvon]

This virus is not flu.

It is particularly dangerous for four reasons:

1. It is readily transmitted from one person to another;
2. It is possible for infected people to transmit the infection before they themselves show signs of illness;
3. Most flu strains will have been around before, which means that there will be a significant number of people who have acquired immunity. Covid-19 is a novel infection that human populations have never encountered before, which means that few, if any, people will have immunity;
4. It carries a significant mortality rate.

Collectively, points 1 to 3 mean that it will spread more easily, creating a capacity for to hit in a wave of infection that will overwhelm the ability of health services to provide care for the critically ill.

I hope that I am completely wrong.

[mikemiller]

Need to be clear on this...
There are lots of different viruses - influenza is a virus type, coronavirus is a different type, Ebola virus , HIV, smallpox viruses are all different again.
They can cause different types of illnesses - eg the first two can cause pnuemonia.
Coronaviruses have been known for a while, but due to particular features of this rare (until now) strain, it is difficult for the human immune system to recognise and destroy it. Could be something about its surface structure, could be something relating to which type of cells in the body it infects , etc. Think that's what the scientists are trying to find out. They should be able to do that , but it will take more than a few days, unfortunately.
Once they have done that immunisation, and/or anti-viral drug treatments become possibilities.