Richard Madeley clashes with Akua in debate over colds
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Coronavirus is an ever-present threat for most Britons, as Government figures show consistently more than 30,000 infections per day. While cases have trended downwards in recent days and vaccines upwards, autumn and winter will create a crunch for hospitals hoping to avoid being overwhelmed. The seasons see a dramatic uptick in other viral diseases, and according to experts, they could both mitigate and exacerbate Covid.
How could the super cold impact Covid?
Covid has several variants, only one of which – Delta – has supremacy in the UK at present.
That variant, which was relatively unchallenged during the summer, now faces hundreds of competitors, according to Martin Michaelis, Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Kent.
He told Express.co.uk the “super cold” could be one of 200 different cold viruses, each varying in strength.
Professor Michaelis said: “It is not unusual that colds vary in strength.
“How bad a cold is depends on the virus that is causing it and how well our immune system is trained to fight it off.”
The professor added people spent 2020 and early 2021 under Covid restrictions – which also reduced contact with other viruses.
These, according to some health experts, may have left people’s bodies unaccustomed to other viruses, giving them a new level of potency.
Professor Michaelis explained this could mean immune systems have to “re-adapt to some of these viruses”.
But he added the recent phenomenon of “super colds” could also come from some viruses being more severe than others.
And some of them can cohabit, with dual viral infections uncommon but not impossible.
While these can be “worse than just one”, the professor added, viruses tend to interact with one another “in different ways”.
DON’T MISS
The common mistake people make when showering that can be ‘harmful’ – EXPLAINER
Nadiya Hussain health: ‘I feel like I’m going to die’ – INSIGHT
Diabetes type 2: The cheap snack to lower blood sugar in minutes – ANALYSIS
He said: “Some respiratory viruses induce a very strong unspecific response, the so-called innate immune response, which then can protect us from secondary infections with other common cold viruses.
“However, this is a short term effect that will only last for days.
“Other common cold viruses can make us more vulnerable to other infections.”
The professor conceded that there is no “general answer” on how these colds could impact Covid.
Research from mid-2021 has only offered a partial answer for how the two interact.
In June, Yale University’s School of Medicine released a report suggesting rhinoviruses – the usual culprit behind the common cold – could help protect against Covid infections.
Researchers infected lab-grown tissue from human airways with Covid and then exposed them to a rhinovirus.
They found the virus could stop SARS-CoV-2 from completing the rapid replication in its earliest stages that would cause an immune response.
Source: Read Full Article