COVID-19
Does Infection From One Virus Protect From the Other?
Keeping the rumors away about COVID-19
While the pandemic viral disease COVID-19 is spreading around the world at an alarming rate, the discussion of Coronavirus is also heating up from every point of view.
Various opinions and statements from medical personnel and philosophers about the virus are already on the upsurge. At times their thoughts sound highly convincing. But science and experimentation might prove it otherwise.
A few weeks ago, a rumor spread that the virus can go inactive when the temperature rises when summer arrives in the Northern hemisphere. Another is the falsehood that drinking alcohol can protect from COVID-19. Some valid sources like WHO and CDC busted the false information later. But as a good audience, we had the privilege to act stupid for some time.
Recently, there is more impressive hearsay about the Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that an active infection from influenza or somehow-related virus can protect us against the Coronaviral infection.
At a glance, it is very logical. The reason is —
When a person is infected from, for example, the Common cold virus (Rhinovirus– accounts for 30-80% of the common cold), the body responds to it by activating its immune system against this virus. The body secretes biochemicals which helps trigger a series of immune mechanisms in the body like — antibodies and macrophages to react against this infectious particle. These defense mechanisms strategize and destroy the virus(Antigen). Talking simple, the immune system of the body is activated and is at an optimum protective phase from this viral entity.
Why does it happen?
It happens because our body identifies the cold virus because of a pre-infection. And now it already has a systemized response mechanism to deal with it. Our body(host body) recognizes the proteinaceous substance in the outermost surface of the virus and can know that it’s the cold virus and acts specifically against it.
When the immune system is actively working against this virus, it can be speculated that other similar viruses are also identified by the host defense mechanism equally and will be killed and expelled from the body.
But, the human body doesn’t work that way.
It is an established fact that the human body can resist only previously exposed viruses, just like the particular Rhinovirus strain which already has infected the host in the past and the body was successful at recovering from it.
But as far as the Novel Coronavirus causing COVID-19 is concerned, the name itself suggests it is a new strain of Coronavirus. It is extremely new and has not been previously identified. Hence, from the immunological point of view, the proclaim that infection from one virus protects from the other looks faulty and untrue.
Biological experiments will certainly uncover other related mysteries about this disease in the future.
But for now, please believe in precautions and….. stay safe.
