03-05-2020, 08:10 AM
Things are getting a bit trickier now that there appears to be two strains of SARS-CoV-2.
https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-art...36/5775463
The raw numbers of cases reported are going to shed no light on what strains positive infected have.
Apparently, the "S" strain is the one that initially transferred from animal to humans. Though it is still spreading, the "L" strain appears to have mutated once inside humans to be more ideally suited for human transmission and doing more damage. This could explain why some people have mild symptoms, and could explain the difference in severity between what is happening in South Korea vs. say Iran and Italy.
It's hard enough to figure out exactly what is happening with total data transparency. It's impossible by hiding it. The more transparency the better. Washington is studying gene sequences to track what is going on. This is helping public health planners decide what steps to take. Absent this information they would be operating in the dark, probably not taking the most prudent measures, and making things worse.
https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-art...36/5775463
The raw numbers of cases reported are going to shed no light on what strains positive infected have.
Apparently, the "S" strain is the one that initially transferred from animal to humans. Though it is still spreading, the "L" strain appears to have mutated once inside humans to be more ideally suited for human transmission and doing more damage. This could explain why some people have mild symptoms, and could explain the difference in severity between what is happening in South Korea vs. say Iran and Italy.
It's hard enough to figure out exactly what is happening with total data transparency. It's impossible by hiding it. The more transparency the better. Washington is studying gene sequences to track what is going on. This is helping public health planners decide what steps to take. Absent this information they would be operating in the dark, probably not taking the most prudent measures, and making things worse.