Having spoken quite a bit about my PhD struggles, never did I imagine I would write a blog post about viruses (considering my PhD if/when granted would be in Virology).
Virology: The study of viruses.
Yep. It is as simple as that. We all talk a lot about bacteria and it’s true that the science behind the different types of bacteria and fungi have been delineated much more than viruses. Not just because it’s talked about a lot, and ‘antibiotics’ is a household name.... but one reason could be that they are easily spotted, through a normal microscope and that definitely makes it a bit easier for science. They are big, relatively. But what about viruses? They are generally small, in nanometer range. There are also giant viruses (Mimivirus). There’s this big battle to consider a ‘Virus’ as either a living or non-living organism. But unlike their bacteria counterparts ‘virus-spread’ has been placed more strategically fancy and dangerous in movies and history. Sci-fi movies shows villages and towns being wiped out because a virus escaped from a lab. Sales of the movie ‘Contagion’ apparently soared high this season!
So why talk about viruses now? Not just because I hear about them every day at work and also work with one, HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) that causes the disease AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome). But because right now the world is panicking. SARS-CoV-2 (referred to as Coronavirus everywhere this season) causes the disease COVID-19 obviously named as such since it’s first surfacing in Wuhan, China since late 2019. I’ve read quite a bit about the virus and research being published about possible treatment strategies and how the virus enters etc.. but still refrain largely from commercial news articles. In Germany where I currently live, until mid-Feb 2020 things were a bit calm regarding discussions in radio, TV and even for me with colleagues at work even though there were reported cases in Bavaria late January 2020. In just a matter of days, the conversations changed a lot not just in Germany, but all of Europe and now I hear more from family in India etc... Ebola happened, Chickungunya happened and all I can remember during those times was listening to case statistics on commercial TV channels. But this time it is quite different because I’m four years into my PhD thesis in Virology and I want to know about the reality.
Apart from just trying to understand the science behind it, this situation is a clear case of probing into human psychology (like many situations around the world right now that is being used to pry on fear). Fear and panic triumph any chaos a virus wants to cause. Influenza infection (commonly referred to ‘flu’) clearly outweighs reported COVID-19 cases in any country, but that doesn’t cause panic. One would think the reason for this is because there is a vaccine available. But this unfortunately is not true. Most people don’t get vaccinated against influenza anyway. A professor told us that while testing patients for SARS-CoV-2, which has respiratory symptoms similar to a common cold or flu, patients are also tested for Flu and the cases are 10x higher. Coming to the story about masks and disinfectants. I’ve never seen people wear masks during peak flu season, have you? Worst case is when you have to ask people to cover their mouth while coughing atleast for courtesy sake. But now everyone wants to wear a mask and disinfect their hands. This causes a shortage. One I could be directly affected by at work, because I work with viruses (of different kinds, pathogenic and non-pathogenic). In any case, top priorities are surgery rooms and clinics which need a constantly supply of disinfectants and masks. Common people just need a bar of soap or hand wash. Now, I have both at home for years.. just like toothpaste cause it’s general hygiene to use them. Hence it is difficult for me to comprehend why supermarkets are completely empty of these products now.
The current situation is obviously that COVID-19 is a disease that can be contained. A common man can just go on with their normal lives if not living at the epicenter of disease outbreak. It helps to be conscious of the surroundings when such an infection is being reported in different parts of the world. But there is no need to panic. Do not get your news from ‘catchy headlines’, radio RJs or feed curated carefully by your cookies in YouTube, or any other social media. If you’re buying a hand wash or using one only now, please reconsider your lifestyle throughout these years. And that green surgical mask you pay extra for is not going to prevent you from being infected. Get vaccinated against diseases for which they are available! There’s a lot of research going on to find a treatment for COVID-19. But what promise will the society make for it to not become like Influenza or Measles in the next years, for which vaccines have always been available?
Real life and science does not have to be so far. We need to bring them close to not let a living/ non-living virus beat the shit out of us.
Swe.
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