Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #tdvt
Most recents (3)
(Introduction)
🧵1⃣ Why do we get more colds and flu in winter?
And why are some respiratory viruses more likely to infect the lungs?
@JuliaLBach8 and I have a simple proposal called temperature dependent viral tropism (TDVT)
🧵1⃣ Why do we get more colds and flu in winter?
And why are some respiratory viruses more likely to infect the lungs?
@JuliaLBach8 and I have a simple proposal called temperature dependent viral tropism (TDVT)
2⃣We suggest that (virtually all) respiratory viruses sense temperature in order to keep out of the lungs, so that they can keep us moving around
doi.org/10.1002/rmv.22…
doi.org/10.1002/rmv.22…
3⃣Remarkably, several recent studies show that CoV-2 is thermally-sensitive (more active at low temp) in cells & animals – just as we predicted!
1. doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj…
2. doi.org/10.1371/journa…
3. doi.org/10.1093/cid/ci…
4. doi.org/10.1371/journa…
1. doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj…
2. doi.org/10.1371/journa…
3. doi.org/10.1093/cid/ci…
4. doi.org/10.1371/journa…
1/ I feel there are still some important points to make about this question of whether and how quickly Covid will become like a common cold
2/ The first point is CoV-2 is a respiratory virus. It spreads straight from your nose and throat to mine. This is a very distinct group of viruses with something surprising (and, really, unexplained) in common – the illnesses they cause are much more common in cold weather.
3/ They’re also mild in the vast majority of cases – so CoV-2 will be very unusual if it remains as pathogenic as this for long. (Though of course rhinovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza etc regularly hospitalize children and others 👇)
1/ Important observation: many respiratory viruses are much easier to culture at 33°C than 37°C – as predicted by temperature dependent viral tropism #TDVT
Examples from our paper, below
doi.org/10.1002/rmv.22…
Examples from our paper, below
doi.org/10.1002/rmv.22…
2/ Interestingly, this is also seen for CoV-2 doi.org/10.1371/journa…
However, virologists normally put this down to the thermal sensitivity of the host CELLS – less interferon may be produced by cells at 33°C than 37°C doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1…
However, virologists normally put this down to the thermal sensitivity of the host CELLS – less interferon may be produced by cells at 33°C than 37°C doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1…
3/ Actually our immune defences do seem to be weaker when we breath cold air –this may explain the observation that standing still outdoors is correlated with increased mortality from respiratory disease (while outdoor exertion sufficient to cause sweating seems to be protective)
