The Coronavirus Pandemic started in Wuhan, China and has infected Millions worldwide and has caused thousands of deaths. But what does the coronavirus ACTUALLY do to you? How does it spread? How do you fight it off or cause death in some?
Coronaviridae is actually an entire family of viruses that cause disease in mammals and birds. SARS was also a coronavirus. Viruses, in general, are sometimes considered both living and non-living things. They aren't made of cells, but they do have the ability to replicate, just in a different way than other organisms. They are also much much smaller than any of our cells? So how does such a small little half-dead particle have the capacity to kill you?
To contract the coronavirus, you first have to come in contact with it, either through an infected person's respiratory secretions, like a cough or a sneeze, through physical contact with them, or by physically touching a surface that the virus is on and then toughing an open entry into your body before washing your hands. Once the virus enters your body, it can now begin its work. What all viruses have in common, is that they carry some kind of genetic material, either DNA or RNA. The coronavirus carries RNA which has all the information it needs to replicate. This genetic information is typically surrounded by a protein coat/ capsid. Viruses but that attack bacteria are known as bacteriophages. But the coronavirus’s RNA is encased within a helical capsid, and that helical capsid is actually encased in an envelope. The projections coming out of the surface binds to receptors on our cells. This is kind of like a lock and key mechanism. If the virus has found the right cell the virus can properly bind to the receptor and enter the cell. It now has access to all the cells resources, which is only meant for the DNA. It can use the cells Ribosomes which make proteins that have all sorts of functions and travel all over your body. It uses its own RNA to make virulent proteins. Our cells become a virus-producing machine by making the genetic material, the capsid and envelope. The coronavirus has its RNA instructions read over and over and over and makes protein after protein after protein and ultimately can make millions of viruses. These viruses eventually fill the cell and make their way back to the cell membrane, where they break out, often destroying the cell in the process. Once out, it's onto the next cell to repeat this cycle all over again.
As our cells begin to get damaged and die, our body will sense this and start to trigger an immune response. Both of these things are what will create the symptoms that you begin to feel when you have contracted the virus.
In the case of the coronavirus, these symptoms include headaches, runny nose, coughing, sore throat, and fever, which is part of the reason why it's been so hard to track and understand because those are common symptoms. We feel those all the time, especially during flu season or just from getting the common cold. Medical professionals need to do laboratory tests on respiratory specimens as well as blood tests to understand if your symptoms are coming from the Wuhan coronavirus.
In a healthy individual, the immune system will eventually realize that there's a foreign agent inside your body
and mount an attack. The immune system is incredibly complex with a plethora of different mechanisms
to take down your invaders. Your temperature increases, which helps your immune system function better and actually makes it a more hostile environment for the virus. You might create more snot and phlegm, which make it harder for the virus to attach to your cells and also help to get rid of dead viruses and immune cells. You may feel weak and tired as your body starts to prioritize fighting off this virus instead of doing your regular day-to-day activities. When the coronavirus is detected, the body triggers signals to start producing antibodies. These antibodies are created by your own DNA. There are essentially sections of code in each cell's DNA that contain the instructions of how to build different defense systems. Enzymes in the nucleus find the right section of DNA, make a copy called messenger RNA,
which gets sent to the ribosome in your cells, which will read these instructions and start making the relevant proteins. With up to 10 million ribosomes in each cell, they become an antibody-making factory, which are sent outside of the cell to fight the virus.
For the coronavirus, those with healthy immune systems should be able to fight off and rid the body of the virus within weeks. The problem is primarily for those who have compromised immune systems, which is often people who are elderly or people who are very young. This particular coronavirus has mostly affected the elderly,
and that's because as we age, our immune systems become less effective and they actually slow down. As the virus continues to proliferate and cells continue to die, in a desperate attempt to save your body, your immune system can go into overdrive. In severe cases, white blood cells are responsible or activating a variety of chemicals, which can cause the leaking of fluid into your lungs. And this combination of cellular destruction from the virus and fluid-filled lungs interrupts the transportation of oxygen into the bloodstream, which can lead to suffocation and organ failure. But the virus isn't always the cause of death. Often, with a weakened and distracted immune systems, other organisms like bacteria are able to take advantage of the body, causing further complications. As organs begin to shut down, the whole body can as well. This is how it causes death
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