The same precautions set to avoid Covid-19 will also help protect against colds and flu. As health authorities prepare for a cold and flu season that coincides with Covid-19, experts are encouraging the public to continue to practice good hand hygiene, physical distancing and wearing masks to prevent not only Covid-19, but even colds and flu.
"Colds, flu and Covid-19 are all respiratory viruses. There are nuances between them, but basically they are all transmitted in the same way," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
Respiratory disease transmission is divided into two categories: airborne transmission and airborne transmission. When it comes to breath sprays, their size matters.
The common cold and flu are believed to be transmitted through larger droplets. Although there is still much to learn about Covid-19, it is believed to spread in the same way, although experts have called for it to spread through the air as well. "In the case of Covid-19, perhaps at least two-thirds of the transmission is by the airway through sprays," said Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Davis.
Why are masks important? Experts say that the transmission of splashes is why wearing a mask is so important. Masks act as a barrier that prevents larger droplets from being transmitted to others after being removed, minimizing the risk of spreading.
"Think of surgeons," Blumberg added. "The reason they wear face masks is that the germs in their mouths and noses do not fall on the surgical wound. So if everyone wears masks, they protect themselves, but rather they are protecting everyone else around them, and if we were all to do that, then the ability of this virus to spread would not fall to zero, but would be limited. "
Experts hope that wearing masks and other preventative measures for Covid-19 will also help reduce the number of flu cases during the winter.
Shtojmë se në fillim të shtatorit, qarkulloi një artikull i ekspertes së sëmundjeve infektive të Universitetit të Kalifornisë, Monica Gandhi, në The Conversation, ku shpjegonte se maskat e fytyrës mund të bllokojnë pjesën më të madhe të virusit duke ulur ngarkesën virale, gjë që do t’ju shpëtojë nga një infeksion i rëndë i Covid-19. Gandhi theksonte se maska do t'ju mbrojë edhe në rast se infektoheni teksa e mbani atë.
Teksa virusi hyn në trupin e njeriut, sistemi imunitar alarmohet se një patogjen ka depërtuar dhe fillon të sigurojë mbrojtje. Sa më e ulët të jetë ngarkesa fillestare virale, e quajtur inokulum viral ose dozë, aq më të larta janë shanset e sistemit imunitar për ta luftuar. Sa më e madhe të jetë doza e infeksionit, aq më e vështirë është për sistemin imunitar që të përballojë infeksionin.
- Similarities and differences between Covid-19 and influenza
- The coronavirus can survive on the skin much longer than the flu virus
- As a mask it protects you from the coronavirus even if you become infected while holding it
- If you do not smell these 2 things, you may have Covid
- The Japanese supercomputer shows how humidity affects the (non) spread of the virus
Sources: Healthline, WebMd, BGR
