As the coronavirus from Wuhan, China, continues to spread across the globe, many more are becoming infected, and some even dying. But what actually happens to your body if you contact the coronavirus? Coronaviridae is actually an entire family of viruses that cause disease in mammals and birds. SARS, for example, was also a coronavirus. Now, viruses are interesting in that they are sometimes considered both living and non-living things. They aren't made of cells, but they do have the ability to replicate, just in a different way than other organisms. Oh, and they're actually much, much smaller than cells.
Entry of Virus
Now, to contract the coronavirus, you first have to
come in contact with it, either through an infected person's respiratory
secretions, so a cough or a sneeze, through physical contact with them, or by
physically touching a surface that the virus is on and then touching somewhere
like your nose or your mouth before washing your hands.
Attack of the virus
on the body
Once the virus is able to enter your body, its work
can begin. One thing that all viruses have in common is that they carry some kind
of genetic material, either DNA or RNA. In the case of coronavirus, it carries
RNA, which has all the information the virus needs to replicate. The genetic
information in a virus is typically surrounded by a protective capsid. You may
picture this when you think of a virus, but this is a virus
that attacks bacteria, also known as a bacteriophage. In the case of the
coronavirus, the RNA is encased in a helical capsid, and then that helical
capsid is actually encased in an envelope. It contacts projections that attach
the host. These projections coming outta the surface, or the club-like
structures are very important for what happens next. Once the virus comes in contact
with your cells, it binds to receptors on that cell. You can think of the outer
layer of the virus-like key. And if the virus has found the right cells in the
right species, its keys are able to open the lock on these cells. As a result,
the virus is able to enter, where it now has access to all the cell's
machinery.
Mechanism of
attack
Now, normally, this machinery is reserved for your
own DNA, which uses something called the ribosomes to make proteins that have all
sorts of functions and travel all over your body. But the coronavirus ends up
hijacking the system. It uses its own RNA to go to those ribosomes and starts
making proteins that it wants. So, basically, your cell starts producing
viruses by making the genetic material, by making the capsid and envelope, and
ultimately your cell becomes a virus-making machine. And this is why viruses
are often considered non-living because they don't actually have the machinery
to do this work. They actually need your body's cells to do it. So, the
coronavirus has its RNA instructions read over and over and over and makes
protein after protein after protein and ultimately can make millions of
viruses. These viruses eventually fill the cell and make their way back to the
cell membrane, where they break out, often destroying the cell in the process. Once
out, it's onto the next cell to repeat this cycle all over again.
Host response to
virus
Now, as your cells begin to get damaged and die, your the body will sense this and start to trigger an immune response and both of these
things are what will create the symptoms that you begin to feel. In the case of
the coronavirus, these symptoms include headaches, runny nose, coughing, sore
throat, and fever, which is part of the reason why it's been so hard to track
and understand because those are common symptoms. We feel those all the time, especially
during flu season or just from getting the common cold. Medical professionals
would need to do laboratory tests on respiratory specimens as well as blood
work and blood tests to understand if your symptoms are coming from the Wuhan
coronavirus.
In a healthy individual, the immune system will
eventually realize that there's a foreign agent inside your body and mount an
attack. The immune system is incredibly complex with a plethora of different
mechanisms to take down your invaders. Your temperature increases, which helps
your immune system function better and actually make it a more hostile
environment for the virus. You might create more snot and phlegm, which make it
harder for the virus to attach to your cells and also help to get rid of dead
viruses and immune cells. You may feel weak and tired as your body starts to
prioritize fighting off this virus instead of doing your regular day-to-day
activities. And your bones may actually feel sore and ache, and that's because
they're actually making more white blood cells. For its mainline defense, when the
coronavirus is detected, the body triggers signals to start producing
antibodies. These antibodies are created by your own DNA. There are essentially
sections of code in each cell's DNA that contain the instructions of how to
build different defense systems. Enzymes in the nucleus find the right section
of DNA, make a copy called messenger RNA, which gets sent to the ribosome in
your cells, which will read these instructions and start making the relevant
proteins. With up to 10 million ribosomes in each cell, they become an
antibody-making factory, which are sent outside of the cell to fight the virus.-
The trickiest part for your body is that the immune response doesn't catch the
virus right away, so, essentially, the virus starts with an upper hand. This is
why it can take so long for your body to fight off a virus. But for
coronavirus, those with healthy immune systems should be able to fight off and
rid the body of the virus within weeks. The problem is primarily for those who
have compromised immune systems, which are often people who are elderly or
people who are very young. This particular coronavirus has mostly affected the
elderly, and that's because as we age, our immune systems become less effective
and they actually slow-down. As the virus continues to proliferate and cells
continue to die, in a desperate attempt to save your body, your immune system
can go into overdrive. In severe cases, white blood cells are responsible for
activating a variety of chemicals, which can cause the leaking of fluid into
your lungs. And this combination of cellular destruction from the virus and
fluid-filled lungs interrupts the transportation of oxygen into the
bloodstream, which can lead to suffocation and organ failure. But the virus
isn't always the cause of death.
Secondary
Infection
Often, with a weakened and distracted immune
systems, other organisms like bacteria are able to take advantage of the body, causing
further complications. As organs begin to shut down, the whole body can as
well.
The disease like SARS was at a death rate of 10% and
Ebola in some regions has been up to 50%.
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