[ExI] viruses

[Adrian Tymes]

On Thu, Mar 19, 2020 at 2:15 PM William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> It is my understanding that your body kills a virus or the virus kills
> your body.  There is only symptomatic treatment, right?
>

For a broad definition of "symptomatic".  For instance, in severe cases one
symptom is excessive mucus (and/or other substances) in the throat and/or
lungs, beyond an unaided body's ability to breathe - but which mechanical
assistance, available at hospitals, can overcome.

As I understand it, sometimes the virus can directly kill the host, but
more often it is these secondary symptomatic effects that actually inflict
the fatal blow.  I believe it's similar to asthma or severe allergies: it's
not the body's reaction itself that is directly fatal, but rather the
effects of the symptom (to take another respiratory tract example: peanut
allergy sufferer swallows peanut butter causes inflammation in the throat
causes inability to breathe causes asphyxiation).

There are other antiviral measures hospitals can take, too.  It is easier
to supply drugs and topical treatments at a central facility such as a
hospital.  But symptom treatment is one of the measures.
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