SARS is gone, why can’t COVID-19 be eradicated?

Corona 19 virus 3D graphic image [사진=Jezperklauzen/게티이미지뱅크]

Although the corona pandemic has been going on for more than two and a half years, the COVID-19 virus has yet to show any sign of being eradicated. Recently, a second case of infection with monkeypox virus has occurred in Korea. How is it that a virus so small that it cannot be seen is having such a profound effect on humans?

Viruses are organisms that cause infection at the cellular level. The types are very diverse. The simplest form consists of two or three genes made of RNA or DNA, while the advanced form of the virus has hundreds of genes.

The most important feature is that it cannot generate energy on its own, so it must be parasitic on the host. Viruses depend on the host to survive, but at the same time, they can cause diseases such as colds in the host.

If you only need to parasitize the host, why do you have to cause a viral disease and make your body sick? According to a 2011 study at Pennsylvania State University in the United States, disease occurs when viruses pass from one animal species to another. The host needs to adapt to a new virus that it has never encountered before, which is a huge challenge for the host. The host’s immune system recognizes the new virus as an intruder and overreacts, causing infectious disease symptoms in the process.

Conversely, viruses that have been parasitized for a long time in the host’s body are less likely to cause disease. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), for example, has been transferred from wild primates to humans, where it does not cause any disease as long as it has been parasitized for a long time. On the other hand, it causes AIDS in humans as a new host. The COVID-19 virus also causes various symptoms as it is a new virus in humans.

Studies are underway to determine whether the COVID-19 virus originated in bats or was artificially created in a laboratory. Why is it important to determine the origin of the virus? Knowing the origin of the virus can help break the chain of infection. Mutations can occur in the viral genome (genome totals) during the process of changing host species, which can improve our understanding of these mutations. Viruses stay in a host for extended periods of time, fine-tuning their genomes for that host, so that they do not mutate in the long-distance host.

Then, it is a virus that is equally new to humans, so why is it that some viruses are easily suppressed and others are difficult to suppress? For example, the Corona 19 virus cannot be suppressed and is called a virus that will coexist with us in the future. On the other hand, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS), which appeared in 2002, has been successfully suppressed. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the SARS epidemic in July 2003, the year following the first case of infection in November 2002. This is related to the characteristics of the virus. SARS has a short incubation period. Symptoms usually appear 2 to 7 days following infection. Asymptomatic infections do not occur like COVID-19. Because of these characteristics, it was possible to quickly detect infected people and take quarantine measures.

Conversely, viral infections that have a long incubation period or many asymptomatic infections are difficult to prevent serial infections. This is one of the main reasons why it is difficult to overcome COVID-19.

What is the best way to overcome a virus infection? Antibiotics are effective for bacterial infections, but not for viruses. Rather, the abuse of antibiotics has the potential to adversely affect the healthy bacterial environment in the gut. Viruses require antiviral treatment. However, there is a problem in that viruses mutate and quickly become resistant to antiviral drugs.

Therefore, the best way to overcome it is to equip the patient with the ‘best tool’ to fight external intruders. It is important to have a diet and exercise habit that can maintain the immune system, to get enough rest and to provide adequate hydration when a viral infection occurs. Those who are born with weakened immunity or those whose immunity has been weakened due to taking drugs, etc., require hospital treatment. When the condition is not good, it is important to receive constant monitoring from the medical staff through hospitalization. It is important to follow hygiene rules such as cough etiquette and hand washing for prevention.

By Moon Se-young, staff reporter [email protected]

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