You Probably Have an Asymptomatic Infection Right Now The Atlantic
No, not COVID-19. Many, many viruses can infect humans without making us sick, and how they do that is one of biology’s deepest mysteries.
- “The mystery is hardly unique to COVID-19. SARS, MERS, influenza, Ebola, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, West Nile, Lassa, Japanese encephalitis, Epstein-Barr, and polio can all be deadly in one person but asymptomatic in the next. “
- “Within hours of a typical viral infection, the first infected cells begin secreting interferons, a group of molecules that acts as “a fire alarm and sprinkler system in one, . . . ””
- “Interferons also “interfere” with the virus in a number of ways, such as degrading viral genes, preventing cells from taking up viral particles, suppressing the manufacturing of viral proteins, and causing infected cells to self-destruct. By slowing replication of the virus, interferons buy time for the rest of the immune system.”
In the same journal
How healthy immune systems adapt to viral mutations - Feb 2021