3 ms·

> It would be odd if our immune system, as had apparently been speculated, became less effective against pathogens that it saw a lot. This is how allergy treat

• InSteady 3y ago
  >This is how allergy treatments work. But allergens are not pathogens, we are looking at substantially different immune pathways and function (allergens have no lifecycle, let alone one involving host cells). >Apparently some infections (at least dengue) are worse the second time. There is some compelling evidence to suggest it is specifically having a low, but not zero, level of antibodies that paradoxically increases the chance of severe infection in dengue fever specifically. Possibly by enhancing dengue's ability to infiltrate cells when it is only slightly coated with antibodies [1]. So even in this rather unusual case, it is not seeing dengue a lot, but rather seeing it exactly once and then seeing it again after several years without any contact that appears to cause this issue. [1] - https://www.statnews.com/2017/11/02/dengue-second-infection/ https://www.statnews.com/2017/11/02/dengue-second-infection/
• rossdavidh 3y ago
  I agree it's not an absurd idea. But it would be surprising. I think there's a lot left to discover about how our immune system misfires to cause allergies, but it is worth pointing out that allergens don't reproduce, so the idea would be that if your immune system has enough exposure it will eventually figure out that it's not a pathogen. But you're correct, it's not an absurd idea, just would have been surprising if true.