Death of SARS

[Unveiled Artist]

Silly question. How did SARs die out and other former viruses?

I looked it up but rather discuss it. I'm sure it doesn't just disappear unless maybe when the last and only victim is left and the virus has nowhere to spread?

 

[Twilight Hue]

Silly question. How did SARs die out and other former viruses?

I looked it up but rather discuss it. I'm sure it doesn't just disappear unless maybe when the last and only victim is left and the virus has nowhere to spread?

I think its when a virus is fully isolated and contained it stops spreading. Hopefully the elements and natural immunity will kill most outright that fall on the ground and those in the body.

 

[Revoltingest]

Some info....
Coronavirus vs. SARS: How Do They Differ?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Some info....
Coronavirus vs. SARS: How Do They Differ?

I'ma look at it. I don't see how viruses die out.

Edit. Read this awhile back.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I think its when a virus is fully isolated and contained it stops spreading. Hopefully the elements and natural immunity will kill most outright that fall on the ground and those in the body.

I think my post disappeared. Was thinking the only thing I can think of that makes viruses "go away" is to find treatments. Like ebola. It's still listed as a rare disease, still deadly, but treatable. We don't hear about it anymore. I honestly haven't heard of SARs until recently and that happened in 2003, now it's gone.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I think my post disappeared. Was thinking the only thing I can think of that makes viruses "go away" is to find treatments. Like ebola. It's still listed as a rare disease, still deadly, but treatable. We don't hear about it anymore. I honestly haven't heard of SARs until recently and that happened in 2003, now it's gone.

Once if and when a vaccine is released, im sure Covid will go into that category.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I'ma look at it. I don't see how viruses die out.

Edit. Read this awhile back.

Viruses can die but true i don't see how it could die out with 100% certainty.

 

[Polymath257]

You never get 100% certainty.

Viruses (and other disease agents) tend to run through a population until people either isolate those infected (which stops new spreading) or enough people have been exposed that the virus has trouble finding *new* hosts (those who have already had it are usually immune from new infections of it). Vaccines help by decreasing the number of potential new hosts.

The goal, of course, it to get things calmed down while also saving as many lives as possible. That typically means that isolation is required until a vaccine is found.

So, for SARS, those who had it were isolated, so the transmission to new people was stopped and the virus had nowhere to go. When it was clear from the systems of those who had it, it was effectively gone (see below, though).

The same thing happened with Ebola: people who had it were isolated and so no new transmission happened.

In both cases (and for other diseases as well), though, there is also an animal vector that can, in some situations, reintroduce the virus into human populations. if we don't know that animal, that can make control difficult.

Now, with COVID-19, there are a couple of big problems:

1. There can be asymptomatic transmission: in other words, it is possible to spread this disease *before* you know you have it and show symptoms. This makes isolation of only those who have symptoms ineffective. That is why we are currently doing social distancing: to reduce spread to new people.

2. There seem to be cases where people *can* be re-infected. This means that 'herd immunity' is MUCH harder to get. if a person can get it (and spread it) twice, that significantly complicates the strategy of building up a reservoir of people who are immune and so slow the spread.

At this point, our most effective ways to fight this virus is social distancing and wearing masks (to protect others from your infection before you know you have it).

When/if we get a vaccine, that will increase the number of people around to form a barrier to further spread.

And, of course, we still don't know what the animal vector is.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

You never get 100% certainty.

Viruses (and other disease agents) tend to run through a population until people either isolate those infected (which stops new spreading) or enough people have been exposed that the virus has trouble finding *new* hosts (those who have already had it are usually immune from new infections of it). Vaccines help by decreasing the number of potential new hosts.

The goal, of course, it to get things calmed down while also saving as many lives as possible. That typically means that isolation is required until a vaccine is found.

So, for SARS, those who had it were isolated, so the transmission to new people was stopped and the virus had nowhere to go. When it was clear from the systems of those who had it, it was effectively gone (see below, though).

The same thing happened with Ebola: people who had it were isolated and so no new transmission happened.

In both cases (and for other diseases as well), though, there is also an animal vector that can, in some situations, reintroduce the virus into human populations. if we don't know that animal, that can make control difficult.

Now, with COVID-19, there are a couple of big problems:

1. There can be asymptomatic transmission: in other words, it is possible to spread this disease *before* you know you have it and show symptoms. This makes isolation of only those who have symptoms ineffective. That is why we are currently doing social distancing: to reduce spread to new people.

2. There seem to be cases where people *can* be re-infected. This means that 'herd immunity' is MUCH harder to get. if a person can get it (and spread it) twice, that significantly complicates the strategy of building up a reservoir of people who are immune and so slow the spread.

At this point, our most effective ways to fight this virus is social distancing and wearing masks (to protect others from your infection before you know you have it).

When/if we get a vaccine, that will increase the number of people around to form a barrier to further spread.

And, of course, we still don't know what the animal vector is.

In SARs and ebola, etc. When isolating people, I can only think of the viruses not spreading after the infected has died. Unless one isolated their whole life, just in case, without a vaccine I guess nature will take it's course.

 

[Polymath257]

In SARs and ebola, etc. When isolating people, I can only think of the viruses not spreading after the infected has died. Unless one isolated their whole life, just in case, without a vaccine I guess nature will take it's course.

Not true. This depends strongly on the specific virus.

Many are eliminated by the immune system entirely. That is, after all, the job of the immune system. When this happens, the person is 'cured' and no longer infectious. Also, usually, this results in someone who is immune from further infection: if they are exposed again, the immune system already knows how to combat that virus.

So, it is not always the case of 'once infected, always infected'. In fact, the whole notion of 'quarantine' is related to a 40 day waiting period to ensure the person is not infected or, if infected, has cleared the infection from their system.

For some viruses, even a corpse is infectious, so dying alone may not be enough to stop spread of a virus. I wouldn't recommending touching a corpse of someone who died of Ebola, for example.

Many viruses (for example Herpes) can go into remission. When that happens, the person doesn't have symptoms and is not infectious for new people, even though the virus is still in their system. The problem here is that it is possible, later, for the virus to come out of remission and the person can become infectious again. This can cycle for some viruses.

So, the way things usually play out in the absence of a vaccine: the virus spreads in the population. Either those who have it are isolated until it is cleared from their system, at which point they are free to rejoin society, OR the virus infects almost everyone, which causes a lot of death, but those who remain tend to have natural immunity (meaning their immune system knows how to fight it).

What vaccines do, in part, is build up a population of people who are immune to new infection, which leaves the virus fewer opportunities to spread. This is why there can be outbreaks when too many people don't get the vaccine: the number of susceptible people is large enough for the virus to spread more freely again.