On 29.03.2021 at 21:07, Joe scribbled:

> On Mon, 29 Mar 2021 20:46:04 +0100
> Ahem A Rivet's Shot  wrote:
> 
> > On Mon, 29 Mar 2021 20:17:23 +0100
> > Joe  wrote:
> >   
> > > Occam's Razor says that there is a simpler explanation than
> > > 'hygiene'.    
> > 
> >  I'd guess cough etiquette[1] to be a major factor, along
> > with the huge upswing in effective hand cleansing.
> > 
> > [1] Just how long ago was the "coughs and sneezes spread diseases"
> > campaign ?
> >   
> 
> So why has flu been practically eliminated, but not Covid, which is a
> comparable respiratory disease caused by a virus of similar size?

Covid-19 is most definitely NOT a respiratory disease.  If anything, it
is actually comparable to AIDS in that it attacks your immune system,
hijacks it, and then turns it against you.  Certain gene sequences of
the SARS-CoV-2 virus' RNA are actually also found in the HIV virus.

I've already said it before but I guess it needs repeating: I have had
an education in (among other things) the medical field and biology; AND
I have had Covid-19 twice — six months apart, almost down to the day.
I know what it did to my body, and the infection is only the start of
the misery.  The respiratory problems — which in my case were present,
albeit only mildly — are only a side-effect of the infection.

After your immune system has eventually defeated the virus, you're
still left with the damage the virus did to your body. Among other
things, it causes your blood vessels to leak, and it uses that very
same mechanism to break down and cross the blood-brain barrier, whereby
it causes neurological damage.  This in turn will manifest in the form
of autoimmune disorders, headaches, insomnia, brain fog and a whole
host of other symptoms, albeit that the exact symptoms differ greatly
per individual.  

The blood vessel leakage is also what causes the respiratory problems.
The virus unleashes a bradykinin storm in your body.  Not only does the
leakage cause fluid to enter your lungs, but the bradykinin also causes
a reaction with an acid that can absorb over 2'000 times its weight in
water and becomes a gel-like goo in the process.  This causes the lungs
to fill up with the goo, with as a result that the oxygen you inhale
cannot reach your bloodstream anymore.  

However, this specific effect also appears to be tied to genetic
factors, such as one's blood group and the amount of — believe it or
not — Neanderthal DNA one possesses. People with blood groups O and B
are least affected in the respiratory department, while people with
blood groups A and AB are most affected in that regard.  Likewise, more
Neanderthal DNA means that the effects of the disease will be more
severe.

Furthermore, apparently the SARS-CoV-2 virus doesn't get along well
with either the influenza virus or the rhinovirus that causes the common
cold, according to a recent study. Having the common cold or the flu —
and most likely also your immune system's reaction to that — appears to
form a kind of protection against Covid-19, and vice versa.

-- 
With respect,
= Aragorn =

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