3 ms·

Note, though: circulating cold & flu viruses serve to "boost" prior immunity via new mild/asymptomatic cases each year. Without these, immunities are decaying.

by gojomo 6y ago

Note, though: circulating cold & flu viruses serve to "boost" prior immunity via new mild/asymptomatic cases each year. Without these, immunities are decaying. So it's possible that when more normal interchange with the rest of the world resumes, NZ (and others) will have some "very bad" traditional cold/flu seasons. (It may feel like Covid, but not be.)

orwin 6y ago
> Note, though: circulating cold & flu viruses serve to "boost" prior immunity via new mild/asymptomatic cases each year. Without these, immunities are decaying. No, not really. I understand where you're comming from but this is a myth, that even some generalists doctor contribute to. Yes the immune system can "register" a new pathogen and how to produce antibodies for them, but honestly we have vaccine for (almost) every sickness that can put a non-immunodepressed down if the immune response is too late, and adequate serums and care when a vaccine isn't available. But your immune system do not "decay" if not stimulated. At all, and it might even be the opposite (the effect is within the error margin of the studies for now).
- xref 6y ago
  Lots wrong here: > we have vaccine for (almost) every sickness that can put a non-immunodepressed down if the immune response is too late The 40-60% effectiveness of annual flu shots would beg to differ. And more often it is your immune response being wildly overreactive and attacking healthy cells that causes problems, not a “late response” > But your immune system do not "decay" if not stimulated. Sure it does, for one that’s the whole point of booster shots; your immune response to certain pathogens can decay over time (wether acquired from vaccine or naturally). Additionally the “Hygiene Hypothesis” suggests our world being so clean, and our immune systems not being challenged, has led to a large spike in allergies (like peanuts) as the body searches for anything to attack. https://www.vox.com/2014/11/6/7163713/peanut-allergy-symptoms https://www.vox.com/2014/11/6/7163713/peanut-allergy-symptom...
- gojomo 6y ago
  Immunity absolutely decays in many cases unless refreshed. For example, many vaccines require later booster shots. See also the strong evidence around a "boosting" effect from circulating chickenpox cases. Namely, that the availability of the chickenpox vaccine, by reducing the amount of environmentally-circulating chickenpox virus, is now preventing natural reinforcement of adults' immunity via asymptomatic encounters, and thus leading to more (painful, symptomatic) cases of shingles, especially among people in their 30s/40s: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150811103555.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150811103555.h... https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2020/adult-exposure-chickenpox-linked-lower-risk-shingles-does-not-provide-full https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2020/adult-exposure-... https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/news/20180904/shingles-on-the-rise-among-younger-people https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/...

by gojomo 6y ago

orwin 6y ago

> Note, though: circulating cold & flu viruses serve to "boost" prior immunity via new mild/asymptomatic cases each year. Without these, immunities are decaying. No, not really. I understand where you're comming from but this is a myth, that even some generalists doctor contribute to. Yes the immune system can "register" a new pathogen and how to produce antibodies for them, but honestly we have vaccine for (almost) every sickness that can put a non-immunodepressed down if the immune response is too late, and adequate serums and care when a vaccine isn't available. But your immune system do not "decay" if not stimulated. At all, and it might even be the opposite (the effect is within the error margin of the studies for now).

xref 6y ago
Lots wrong here: > we have vaccine for (almost) every sickness that can put a non-immunodepressed down if the immune response is too late The 40-60% effectiveness of annual flu shots would beg to differ. And more often it is your immune response being wildly overreactive and attacking healthy cells that causes problems, not a “late response” > But your immune system do not "decay" if not stimulated. Sure it does, for one that’s the whole point of booster shots; your immune response to certain pathogens can decay over time (wether acquired from vaccine or naturally). Additionally the “Hygiene Hypothesis” suggests our world being so clean, and our immune systems not being challenged, has led to a large spike in allergies (like peanuts) as the body searches for anything to attack. https://www.vox.com/2014/11/6/7163713/peanut-allergy-symptoms https://www.vox.com/2014/11/6/7163713/peanut-allergy-symptom...
gojomo 6y ago
Immunity absolutely decays in many cases unless refreshed. For example, many vaccines require later booster shots. See also the strong evidence around a "boosting" effect from circulating chickenpox cases. Namely, that the availability of the chickenpox vaccine, by reducing the amount of environmentally-circulating chickenpox virus, is now preventing natural reinforcement of adults' immunity via asymptomatic encounters, and thus leading to more (painful, symptomatic) cases of shingles, especially among people in their 30s/40s: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150811103555.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150811103555.h... https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2020/adult-exposure-chickenpox-linked-lower-risk-shingles-does-not-provide-full https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2020/adult-exposure-... https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/news/20180904/shingles-on-the-rise-among-younger-people https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/...