Emergence of a Deadly Coronavirus

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^ Ferguson should be remembers as one of the great monsters of modern times.

Americans Didn’t Wait For Their Governors To Tell Them To Stay Home Because Of COVID-19

EYE PROTECTION: TO WEAR OR NOT WEAR

I remember very early on in this thread the subject of protective eyewear was debated. Some were for it while others thought it was foolish. So there was a research study reported today that showed eyes as being a major infection point.

From my perspective, there are three main routes of infection. [The first is large moist mucus droplets. The second is fine moist droplets. The third is droplets that dry out in low humidity environments that become extremely light weight and float through the air. They find moisture either in the throat or on the eyes and replicate and infect individuals.] So eye protections, such as wearing safety glasses or face shield can be an import measure for controlling the spread of this virus.

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The eyes are a key point of infection for the novel coronavirus, a team of Hong Kong researchers said this week, detailing how the disease has higher rates of transmissibility through the eyes and airways when compared to H5N1, or the bird flu, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes a COVID-19 infection, is nearly 100 times more effective at infecting the human conjunctiva -- a thin, clear tissue covering the eyeball and inner surface of the eyelids -- and upper respiratory airways than SARS, Dr. Michael Chan Chi-wai, who led the research team at Hong Kong University’s School of Public Health, told the South China Morning Post. The team's findings were published in the most recent issue of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

“We culture tissues from the human respiratory tract and eyes in the laboratory and applied them to study the SARS-Cov-2, comparing it with SARS and H5N1. We found that SARS-Cov-2 is much more efficient in infecting the human conjunctiva and the upper respiratory airways than SARS with virus level some 80 to 100 times higher,” Chan told the outlet. “This explains the higher transmissibility of COVID-19 than that of SARS. This study also highlights the fact that eyes may be an important route of SARS-CoV-2 human infection."

While SARS infected an estimated 8,000 people during the outbreak in the early 2000s, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to date approaches 4 million worldwide.

The news comes after Italy’s first coronavirus patient had detectable levels of virus genetic material in her eyes long after it cleared from her nose, according to a report published in the April 17 journal Annals of Internal Medicine. On the woman’s 27th day in the hospital, the virus’s genetic material was still detected through ocular swabs.

The Hong Kong team's findings highlight not only the importance of keeping your hands away from your face but also suggest a need for essential workers to wear protective eyewear, beyond just face masks and protective clothing, the South China Morning Post noted.

“Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises in helping prevent a COVID-19 infection. The advice may prove more important than ever as warm spring weather brings seasonal allergies, stirring up itchy eyes.

Source: Coronavirus up to 100 times more infectious through eyes, airways than SARS: report

Probably two other points.
1. The title of the article is a little misleading. Notice the "comma" in the title. It is not just the eyes but also the airwaves (throat and nose) that are the infection points.
2. The last sentence of the article reads: "“Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises in helping prevent a COVID-19 infection. The advice may prove more important than ever as warm spring weather brings seasonal allergies, stirring up itchy eyes." The desiccated viral particles seek moisture to rehydrate and infect. In Spring, as the humidity levels rise, the dehydrated viral particles will absorb the moisture from the air and the added weight will facilitate the particles falling to the ground.

Happy Mother's day.....oops

LOL! the way you put that.

Three Children In New York Have Died Of A Mysterious Inflammatory Disease Potentially Linked To COVID-19

CORONAVIRUS EYES

Last night just before the crack of dawn, jimmy m. was racing around the track in his go-kart at almost light speed. Then he saw a shinny object dangling from the air. Morning was upon me and the rays of the sun had almost peaked through the window shades. So I reached out and grabbed it as I drove by. It was a strange object. Took a long time to figure out what it was. It wasn't intuitively obvious. But now I understand.

To describe this object, I have to tell a short story. I am near-sighted and as a result I wear glasses. Almost blind as a bat without them. Around 20-30 years ago, I developed a strange problem. Many times during the day, my glasses would become dirty. I inspected them and saw small round dried opaque spots on the inside of the glasses. This became a nuisance because I might clean my glasses and within two minutes they might be spotted again. My eyes were literally erupting like miniature volcanoes.

So the next time I visited my eye doctor (optometrist) I explained my difficulty. I saw a crack of a smile appear on his face. He said, "I know what the problem is and how to fix it". He said that the eyelids contain many little tear ducts that squirt a fine mist of tears to clean and lubricate the eyes. These ducts can become clogged and need to be periodically cleaned. He recommended that I use a product called Ocusoft Lid Scrub and clean my eyelids once or twice each day. He said, "Or you might find a very fine cloth and put on a drop of 'No More Tears Baby Shampoo' since that is essentially what the lid scrubs are and it will do the same thing." [Why does this shampoo not produce a howl-inducing sting as it splashes into a baby's eyes? The "no tears" formula contains all the eye-stinging chemicals as adult shampoos, plus a desensitizing agent -- Novocain, lidocaine -- to numb the eyes.] Well I bought a box of Ocusoft Lid Scrubs and gently wash my eyelids and eruptions ceases. Problem solved. And I have been using this product ever since.

Now yesterday, I posted on this thread that the coronavirus had been detected on the eyes of several individuals and might be a route of transmission. Ocusoft description reads "effectively removes oil, debris, pollen and desquamated skin that may contribute to eye irritation." [So now unwrapping this shinny gold object that jimmy m. found dangling from the sky.] What is the advise from the health experts on preventing coronavirus transmission? "Wash your hands with soap and water." Soap and water kill (deactivates) the virus. Shampoo is a type of soap. So by using this product every day [at least theoretically], I am destroying any coronavirus that should find its way into my eyes.

That makes me wonder about using a Neti pot to flush out sinuses.Maybe a good idea to do after a town trip.Sterile water of course.