3 ms·

Most droplet born viruses are very contagious (e.g. efficiently infect a target). It wouldnt surprise me if the covid-19 virus is so contagious because symptoms

Most droplet born viruses are very contagious (e.g. efficiently infect a target). It wouldnt surprise me if the covid-19 virus is so contagious because symptoms are slow to develop. SARS was effectively stopped because fever developed quickly so it could be easily detected. Rubeola, pertussis, and TB are all incredibly infectious (R0 > 10) because they are truly airborne. They essentially can survive and still be very infectious in a desiccated form that can float in the air for a long time. Molecularly you can look at the ID 50 (infectious dose) required to start an infection. Epidemiologically speaking there can be broader causes like temperature stability, length of illness, severity of illness, amount of virus production, induction of coughing, etc etc. My bet is on non molecular epidemiological reasons

alexpotato 7y ago
IIRC SARS was also most contagious after the victim was experiencing severe symptoms. This had a couple effects: 1. It meant that it didn't spread as quickly because people were already bedridden during the worst phase 2. It was most dangerous to medical personnel. In fact, one of the top experts was infected while treating patients and it was considered a big deal. If an expert following top protocols to the letter could get infected then there was cause for worry.
mgleason_3 7y ago
The endlessly bad/conflicting advice - dont wear masks, save them for the actual sick. For a disease most people dont know they have and incubates for days seems like the advice should be “wear a mask if you have a cough”. - dont cough on your clothing, cough into tissues, toss them and wash your hands. This seems almost impossible given most people seem to cough multiple times a minute. Why not teach them to contain the spray. Eg Best: Dont go out. Next best: wear a mask. As a last restort, cough into your shirt (as in pull the collar up over your mouth an cough down inside the shirt so the spray is contained inside it).
- ambicapter 7y ago
  Can't tell if you're listing good advice to follow (in contrast to "the endlessly bad/conflicting advice") or listing examples of bad advice that shouldn't be followed.
- bad_user 7y ago
  Masks are currently in short supply. At this point it's more important for medical personnel to have access to masks, than it is for individuals. Because if the hospitals get overwhelmed, we're all screwed — this being a classic tragedy of the commons. Also it's pretty hard to wear a mask correctly. I've seen plenty of people wearing surgical masks with their nose out. If you aren't going to wear that mask correctly, then what's the freaking point? And even if you can train yourself to wear a mask correctly, to properly dispose of it, etc, the price of masks, even surgical ones, has gone through the roof and even if you can afford to wear a new one each day or two, the supply of masks isn't reliable. So I'm afraid that at this point, even if you have a cough, the best you can do is to isolate yourself, because masks are in short supply and expensive.
ksk 7y ago
>Most droplet born viruses are very contagious (e.g. efficiently infect a target). Is that your own co-relation? For e.g. Influenza Type B versus Influenza type C. Type C is not as contagious and the seasonal flu vaccine does not cover it. >Rubeola, pertussis, and TB are all incredibly infectious (R0 > 10) because they are truly airborne. They essentially can survive and still be very infectious in a desiccated form that can float in the air for a long time. Being contagious doesn't directly co-relate to being equally harmful. For e.g. Most healthy adults can easily deal with TB. The numbers shift, but approximately over 40% of the Indian population is infected with TB.

alexpotato 7y ago

IIRC SARS was also most contagious after the victim was experiencing severe symptoms. This had a couple effects: 1. It meant that it didn't spread as quickly because people were already bedridden during the worst phase 2. It was most dangerous to medical personnel. In fact, one of the top experts was infected while treating patients and it was considered a big deal. If an expert following top protocols to the letter could get infected then there was cause for worry.

mgleason_3 7y ago

The endlessly bad/conflicting advice - dont wear masks, save them for the actual sick. For a disease most people dont know they have and incubates for days seems like the advice should be “wear a mask if you have a cough”. - dont cough on your clothing, cough into tissues, toss them and wash your hands. This seems almost impossible given most people seem to cough multiple times a minute. Why not teach them to contain the spray. Eg Best: Dont go out. Next best: wear a mask. As a last restort, cough into your shirt (as in pull the collar up over your mouth an cough down inside the shirt so the spray is contained inside it).

ambicapter 7y ago
Can't tell if you're listing good advice to follow (in contrast to "the endlessly bad/conflicting advice") or listing examples of bad advice that shouldn't be followed.
bad_user 7y ago
Masks are currently in short supply. At this point it's more important for medical personnel to have access to masks, than it is for individuals. Because if the hospitals get overwhelmed, we're all screwed — this being a classic tragedy of the commons. Also it's pretty hard to wear a mask correctly. I've seen plenty of people wearing surgical masks with their nose out. If you aren't going to wear that mask correctly, then what's the freaking point? And even if you can train yourself to wear a mask correctly, to properly dispose of it, etc, the price of masks, even surgical ones, has gone through the roof and even if you can afford to wear a new one each day or two, the supply of masks isn't reliable. So I'm afraid that at this point, even if you have a cough, the best you can do is to isolate yourself, because masks are in short supply and expensive.

ksk 7y ago

>Most droplet born viruses are very contagious (e.g. efficiently infect a target). Is that your own co-relation? For e.g. Influenza Type B versus Influenza type C. Type C is not as contagious and the seasonal flu vaccine does not cover it. >Rubeola, pertussis, and TB are all incredibly infectious (R0 > 10) because they are truly airborne. They essentially can survive and still be very infectious in a desiccated form that can float in the air for a long time. Being contagious doesn't directly co-relate to being equally harmful. For e.g. Most healthy adults can easily deal with TB. The numbers shift, but approximately over 40% of the Indian population is infected with TB.