Covid-19 ~ Why coronavirus kills more old people than young - possibly

Why coronavirus kills more old people than young - possibly ... What about pre-existing conditions?

Well obviously pre-existing conditions I mean stands to reason doesn't it? But apart from pre-existing conditions, why does coronavirus kill more old people than young - possibly.

I was listening to a scientist on the radio the other day describing how Covid-19 which is part of the coronavirus family could be possibly fooling the immune system and making it think its a virus that the body has dealt with before, so it leaves it alone initially.

This could explain why the virus appears to affect older people worse than younger people and children. That's not to say that younger people and children don't get affected, they do. Just a lot lot less.

There are now 7 human coronaviruses.

4 common ones
229E (alpha coronavirus)
NL63 (alpha coronavirus)
OC43 (beta coronavirus)
HKU1 (beta coronavirus)

3 that cause more damage
MERS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS)
SARS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS)
SARS-CoV-2 (the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19)
The last on the list SARS-CoV-2 is the latest to join the club and its possible, but not proven yet, that it may have some, let's call it special stealth capabilities.

But the theory makes sense, well to me at least. There are plenty of links below for anyone interested in scientific names etc. I've tried to write this so I could understand it and therefore hopefully others.

So here's the theory
Over the years us oldens get exposed to all sorts of bugs, viruses, etc. Flu would kill a lot more people if we hadn't built up immunity to it over the years and we still need a vaccine.

The 4 common coronaviruses above we have also built up immunity to over many years. So our bodies in general recognise these coronaviruses. If they try and get in, the immune system checks them, goes oh right we know you, we already have some troops trained to deal with you, don't go away they'll be along in a second.

Now along comes SARS-CoV-2, looking very similar to the 4 common coronaviruses, so the immune system goes OK we know you, we'll send some troops we've already trained to deal with you. The normal response is not set off and the body doesn't make a specific set of troops to deal with the invading virus, it thinks it's already done it. But SARS-CoV-2 is not like the other coronaviruses.

SARS-CoV-2 carries on on its journey looking for cells to invade and is hit by all the troops the immune system has but they have no effect as they don't have the right tools to do the job. By the time the immune system realises its been duped SARS-CoV-2 has already got a hold and the specific troops being made now have a real battle on their hands.

This would explain why older people get it worse. The more of the 4 common coronaviruses we have had the easier it is for SARS-CoV-2 to sneak through.

Children and younger people however have had less exposure to the 4 common coronaviruses, maybe none at all. When SARS-CoV-2 wanders in, the body immediately makes a specific set of troops to fight it and the initial response is so very important is stopping SARS-CoV-2 from getting a foothold on the beaches. Which means you end up with mild symptoms.

Nothing is every 100% and yes children have died, maybe they had already had some of the 4 common coronaviruses, who knows.

As I said above none of this is proven concerning SARS-CoV-2.

Some viruses exist that do what is described above and SARS-CoV-2 could be one of them, time will tell I guess.

Obviously as already stated there are other things like preexisting conditions to consider. Mainly, but not exclusively in the elderly.





LINKS
How Some Viruses Protect Themselves From the Immune System's Efforts to Stop Infections
How Viruses Can Fool The Immune System
Virus tricks the immune system into ignoring bacterial infections
How herpes virus tricks the immune system
Human Coronavirus Types

UPDATED Recent Articles
Why Some People Get Sicker Than Others
Immunology Is Where Intuition Goes to Die

Covid-19 ~ How do we know its not man made?

Lots of rumours flying around and no doubt the Government will fan the flames of these to deflect from their own inadequacies in response to the epidemic.

However whilst nothing is ever 100% and this is so new that further data from research may bring a different light to it. But at present it would seem that it is unlikely that Covid-19 was constructed in a laboratory.


Here are some quotes from NatureMedicine, link to full document below
The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2

To the Editor — Since the first reports of novel pneumonia (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, there has been considerable discussion on the origin of the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2 (also referred to as HCoV-19). Infections with SARS-CoV-2 are now widespread, and as of 11 March 2020, 121,564 cases have been confirmed in more than 110 countries, with 4,373 deaths. 

SARS-CoV-2 is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans; SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 can cause severe disease, whereas HKU1, NL63, OC43 and 229E are associated with mild symptoms. Here we review what can be deduced about the origin of SARS-CoV-2 from comparative analysis of genomic data. We offer a perspective on the notable features of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and discuss scenarios by which they could have arisen. Our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus.

Here are some quotes from Medical News Today, link to full document below
The new coronavirus was not man-made, study shows

The scientists found that the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein had evolved to target ACE2 so effectively that it could only have been the result of natural selection and not of genetic engineering. Furthermore, the molecular structure of the backbone of SARS-CoV-2 supported this finding. If scientists had engineered the new coronavirus purposely as a pathogen, explain the researchers, the starting point would likely have been the backbone of another virus in the coronavirus family.

However, the backbone of SARS-CoV-2 was very different than those of other coronaviruses and was most similar to related viruses in bats and pangolins.
“These two features of the virus — the mutations in the RBD portion of the spike protein and its distinct backbone — rule out laboratory manipulation as a potential origin for SARS-CoV-2,” explains Andersen. 

“By comparing the available genome sequence data for known coronavirus strains, we can firmly determine that SARS-CoV-2 originated through natural processes.”
– Kristian Andersen

LINKS
medicalnewstoday-The new coronavirus was not man-made, study shows
nature.com-The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2
Laboratory-Acquired Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
sciencedaily-COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin
patient.info-COVID-19: coronavirus myths debunked
forbes-No, COVID-19 Coronavirus Was Not Bioengineered. Here’s The Research That Debunks That Idea
techtimes-Studies Confirm Coronavirus is NOT Man-Made; Find Out How it Hijacks Your Cells
health24-New coronavirus is not man-made, new study confirms