![]() ![]() "Some immune-relevant genes, for example genes that are responsible for recognizing pathogens, are encoded on the X chromosome. At 2.8%, the mortality rate of men is significantly higher than that of women, at 1.7%.Īccording to Pietschmann, this difference can be explained by genetics. In the case of the coronavirus, the data shows that women have higher survival chances than men. How successful this fight is depends not only on the age and health of the infected person, but on his or her gender. Hong Kong University sheds light on coronavirusįever, pain and chills are typical symptoms of a viral disease and a sign that the body is fighting off the invaders. ![]() The length of this incubation period depends on the characteristics and biology of the virus. From the first contact with the pathogens to the first symptoms of the disease, several weeks can pass. However, at first they do this quietly and secretly. In this way, the pathogens can spread rapidly. "On cold and usually dry winter days, the small droplets, together with the viruses, float in the air longer than when the air humidity is high," Pietschmann elaborates. Once the pathogens have been expelled from the respiratory tract with a strong sneeze, they literally hang in the air. But this has less to do with the pathogens liking warm weather: "In this case, it is not the temperature that plays the main role in the spread of the pathogens, but the animal that transmits the virus," Pietschmann says.Īir humidity also influences the transmissibility of respiratory viruses. The dengue virus, for example, is mainly found in tropical and subtropical regions. Read more: Why coronavirus fears are disproportionate compared with other health risksįor other pathogens, temperature only plays a subordinate role. "Other viruses, such as the norovirus, are more stable because they consist mainly of proteins and genetic material." This layer is not very heat-resistant, which means that the virus quickly breaks down when temperatures rise. "The coronavirus is surrounded by a lipid layer, in other words, a layer of fat," Pietschmann explains. The warmer it gets, the more difficult the conditions are for many viruses. This is similar to food that keeps longest in the refrigerator," says Pietschmann. "Viruses have greater stability at low temperatures. those that spread via the respiratory tract, have a particularly easy time when the weather is cool. In addition, the external conditions in the northern hemisphere are currently virtually perfect for the rapid spread of the virus. Unlike influenza viruses, which nearly everyone has been in contact with at some point, our immune system is not prepared for an attack with corona pathogens. From the data we have from China, we can conclude that the virus has only once passed from an animal to humans and spread from there," says Pietschmann. ![]() "What's special about this virus is that humans are confronted with it for the first time. He researches so-called RNA viruses, including for example the hepatitis C virus. Pietschmann is a molecular virologist at the Center for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, called Twincore, in Hanover, Germany. Virologist Thomas Pietschmann says, experts can't yet predict the trajectory of the virus because "honestly speaking, we do not know the virus yet." Spring may be the season of hope, but it's still too early to say accurately whether SARS-CoV-2 behaves as the influenza virus. The coronavirus season would pass away just like the annual flu wave, which starts to ebb when winter ends. Then spring, with its rising temperatures, would kill the pathogens - and stop the spread of the COVID-19 disease. Could warmer weather slow the spread of the coronavirus? If all goes well, the new virus SARS-CoV-2, may behave like the influenza virus.
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