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ОглавлениеWhy COVID-19 Is Worse Than the Flu
The flu has been around for centuries, during which time we humans have built up a “herd” immunity, meaning that our immune systems have learned to mount at least some response to it, and have also developed a vaccination for those who wish to take it.
COVID-19 is different. It is caused by a new strain of the coronavirus that we have never seen before, so as of now, we have no immunity to it, there is no vaccine, and there is no cure.
Since its discovery last December, it’s also becoming obvious that the coronavirus is significantly more lethal than seasonal flu and has seeded the most disruptive pandemic in one hundred years.
New serological data just coming in suggests that infections outnumber confirmed coronavirus cases by a factor of ten or more, since many people don’t experience symptoms, so they aren’t tested or counted in the case tally. But infectious disease specialists know that a disease with a small mortality rate can cause soaring death tolls when it infects millions of people, which is happening with COVID-19.
COVID-19 spreads like wildfire. Somewhere between 40 and 70 percent of the world’s population can be infected in the next couple of years if there’s no vaccine or no steps are taken to limit its spread.
Also, even though its termed a respiratory disease, it’s becoming obvious that COVID-19 damages the whole body.
The coronavirus enters the body through the eyes, nose, or mouth and latches onto certain cells covered with an ACE2 enzyme receptor.
For most people, that seems to be where it stays, causing only mild symptoms or none at all.
But in one out of every six cases, it travels farther down the body into the lungs and into the bloodstream, and from there, it can enter and invade other organs, resulting in a wide variety of damage.
The coronavirus can infiltrate both the heart and the lungs because they each contain cells covered with the same ACE2 enzyme receptor.
The coronavirus can also head for other organs that contain these enzyme receptors as well, including the small and large intestines, the liver, and the kidneys. Just recently these receptors have been found lining cells of the nose.
While some of the organ damage is caused by the virus’s invasion, along with the inflammation that results, the deadliest cases are those in which the immune system, sensing its widespread damage, suddenly goes into abnormal chaotic overdrive, creating a condition called a cytokine storm, which is much like aggressive friendly fire in the heat of battle.
When this happens, the body releases immune cells and proteins into the bloodstream, which then attack healthy tissues in the body. While such a response only occurs in a small percentage of cases, it can lead to organ shutdown and death.
The Lungs
When the coronavirus targets the lungs, it causes shortness of breath, which sometimes rapidly develops into acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. This condition causes massive fluid buildup in the lungs, preventing oxygen from getting to the rest of the body. This lack of oxygen can damage the body’s other organ systems, causing them to shut down, and resulting in death.
The Heart
Research out of China shows not only that the virus damaged the lungs but that nearly 20 percent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 also suffered serious cardiac injury and were at higher risk of dying.
Such cardiac problems included sudden heart attacks, a serious heart condition known as myocarditis, and irregular heartbeat rhythms.
Initially, doctors chalked these problems up to the inflammatory effects of the virus, along with respiratory distress caused by pneumonia and ARDS, but they are now seeing other types of heart damage as well, leading them to believe the virus may injure the heart directly.
The Brain
Researchers are also concerned about mounting evidence that the coronavirus may attack the brain, causing neurological damage and even strokes.
In China, doctors reported a study that 30 percent of COVID-19 patients developed a wide array of neurological problems, including headache; dizziness; impaired consciousness; acute cerebrovascular disease, including epilepsy; and peripheral symptoms, including decreased appetite, taste, and smell.
In New York, doctors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine on a small number of apparently healthy younger people, who had suffered strokes and tested positive for COVID-19. The strokes occurred in the brain and were very unusual in people under the age of fifty. This has led doctors in New York to suspect that COVID-19 is causing a clotting problem that is leading to the strokes.
The paper also noted that in China, there was an approximate 5 percent incidence of strokes seen in COVID-19 patients, and strokes were also associated with the 2004 Singapore outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which is caused by a related type of coronavirus.
An article in The New York Times titled “Coronavirus May Pose a New Risk to Younger Patients: Strokes” (May 14, 2020) underscores this connection to COVID-19.
COVID-19 in Children and Teens
When COVID-19 first appeared in the United States, it was assumed that although children could contract and also spread the virus, they did not become seriously ill. But there are recent reports of children and teenagers becoming very sick with an inflammatory syndrome that may be linked to the virus. This new condition, considered rare, is called pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, and it resembles Kawasaki disease, an acute illness in children.
This syndrome is considered very rare, and children with it have been hospitalized but have generally recovered.
While no link has been firmly established yet between this illness and COVID-19, it is being reported in areas where there have been large outbreaks of the virus, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European countries.
A definitive list of symptoms is being compiled, but Kawasaki disease produces a persistent fever (102.2° Fahrenheit or higher), swollen neck glands, cracked lips, swelling in the hands and feet, and reddened eyes.
