New Mars Forums

Official discussion forum of The Mars Society and MarsNews.com

You are not logged in.

Announcement

Announcement: This forum is accepting new registrations by emailing newmarsmember * gmail.com become a registered member. Read the Recruiting expertise for NewMars Forum topic in Meta New Mars for other information for this process.

#501 2020-07-10 19:43:33

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 29,428

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

More snake oil or is this something
TB vaccine might help fight coronavirus, study suggests

Offline

#502 2020-07-11 09:06:42

RobertDyck
Moderator
From: Winnipeg, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 7,924
Website

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

SpaceNut wrote:

How could a vaccine against a bacterium work against a virus? Don't forget, COVID-19 is an RNA virus. No one has ever developed a vaccine for any RNA virus. The article stays this vaccine improves immunity in general, so could help that way. I'm sure some thinking is that Tuberculosis is a lung infection, so should help against a lung virus. But there's a huge difference between a bacterium vs virus.

Wouldn't interferon work better? Interferon cannot be used as preventative, only treatment.
Wikipedia: Interferon

Offline

#503 2020-07-11 13:35:52

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 7,756

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

I think that they are hoping that it will turn on T-Cell immunity, not anti-bodies.

Just what I read so far.  I am in no way better informed than the other average person.

Done.


End smile

Offline

#504 2020-07-11 17:01:55

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 29,428

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Young man that went to the party of a person that tested positive dies


Words matter and the one heard the most has been HOAX and believed it to be true....

This must not be real either as the Coronavirus deaths take a long-expected turn for the worse

Offline

#505 2020-07-12 05:41:42

elderflower
Member
Registered: 2016-06-19
Posts: 1,262

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Flu vaccine works against single strains of flu and, to some extent, to very closely related strains. Every year the medics must make their educated guess which strain to go for and vulnerable people are given that vaccine. In a good year the guess is right. In a very bad year it would be way off and the vaccine would be the wrong one. But it takes months to prepare for a vaccination campaign. The fact that there is no universal flu vaccine does not, however, mean that there is no vaccine at all. This may be where we are going to end up with Covid 19.

Offline

#506 2020-07-12 16:53:32

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 29,428

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Offline

#507 2020-07-13 12:23:14

RobertDyck
Moderator
From: Winnipeg, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 7,924
Website

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Update for Manitoba as of 1:00pm today local time. No new cases since June 29. None in hospital. And current active cases: 1
c503b07106e313f219833df49b1e689a.jpg

Offline

#508 2020-07-13 12:52:10

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 19,221

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

For RobertDyck re #507

Congratulations on the forward progress of your community!

https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/soe.html

I was curious to see what a successful campaign of health care might look like.

Obviously the policy documents are just words on a phosphor screen unless the humans involved take them to heart.

There are plenty of articles on view these days, about the 1918 flu epidemic.

Apparently, from one I saw this morning (which reinforced earlier reports I had seen) Americans have been cantankerous about masks for 100 years.  The stupidity of the past seems to have propagated without attenuation into the present.

(th)

Offline

#509 2020-07-13 13:46:43

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 7,756

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

I agree that the general refusal to do something as simple as using a mask, is very wrong, and really unpatriotic even.  Selfish. Stupid.

Here is some glimmer of encouragement however: (Remdisvir)
https://news.yahoo.com/gilead-says-addi … 56848.html
Needs further confirmation, but it not only seems to shorten the illness, but it seems reduces the death rate.

Done.

Last edited by Void (2020-07-13 13:47:03)


End smile

Offline

#510 2020-07-13 15:43:32

RobertDyck
Moderator
From: Winnipeg, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 7,924
Website

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Most people here in Manitoba don't wear a mask. They do (sort of) follow rules about social distancing. Hard to maintain distance waiting in line at a store. Large gatherings are all cancelled. Annual events. Folklorama is a multi-cultural festival held every year since 1970; completely cancelled this year. No sport events. I could go on. Restaurants were completely closed. Schools. Those office workers who could work form home, did. But people still went out to parks; keeping 6 feet distance.

Not sure why Manitoba fared so much better than other places. One possibility is heating systems for winter. All Canadian buildings have them. And all have an air filter; just a simple fibreglass furnace filter. But you want to keep it clean, because a clogged filter can increase heating cost, and circulate dust in winter. All public buildings require air circulation; do you guys use air filters?

Offline

#511 2020-07-13 17:39:17

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 19,221

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

For RobertDyck re #510 question ...

Thanks for an interesting question .... I would expect ordinary air filters (installed in every HVAC system in the US) to be insufficient to capture covid virus.

I ** do ** understand that ** some ** hospital HVAC systems are designed to deal with virus or similar small biological agents.

Of course manufacturing clean rooms are capable of handling nanoscale particles, which these are.

Still, I thought it might be helpful to find out what Google could come up with ... there were a number of citations (as usual) ...

I chose this one as representative ...

https://www.nafahq.org/covid-19-corona- … ions-faqs/

I know that hospitals have good filtration, why don’t we all just use systems like these?

Hospitals (and many healthcare facilities) have specially designed mechanical systems that can accommodate the levels of filtration that they need.  They often rely on other systems and control strategies (e.g., UV lamps, humidity control, airflow management) to maximize the benefit from filtration.  Most importantly, they have dedicated staff who operate and maintain this equipment so that it provides maximal benefit.

However, since this ** is ** the NewMars forum, the topic / question is ** most definitely ** relevant to planning for Mars habitats.

My guess is the ISS is already operating at close to the filtration level that will (have to) be routine for Mars habitats, not to mention space going vessels which serve passengers and crew.

Since you (RobertDyck) are developing specs for a deep space passenger vessel in another topic, I trust/hope you've include hospital grade HVAC systems in your design agenda.

So the answer is likely to be that the US users of HVAC systems have to meet local code, but those codes do not (to the best of my knowledge) require performance at the level of a hospital intensive care unit, or certainly not the performance of a manufacturing clean room.

(th)

Offline

#512 2020-07-13 17:47:37

RobertDyck
Moderator
From: Winnipeg, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 7,924
Website

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

So why is the US heavily infested, yet Manitoba is almost virus free? We don't have hospital grade filters in homes or grocery stores.

Offline

#513 2020-07-13 18:03:06

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 7,756

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Evil agents, and stupid people?


End smile

Offline

#514 2020-07-13 18:08:30

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 7,756

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Preliminary fairly good news:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=re … &FORM=VIRE

Done.


End smile

Offline

#515 2020-07-13 18:41:16

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 29,428

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Nh has used social distancing and masks with the initial stay at home if you were not essential for controlling the levels of infection. We have begun staged openings and going back to work with companies requiring the masks and doing there best to reduce crowds. The schools at this time are not all going back and even when they do its going to be with limited numbers with as many as possible doing education at home with the internet tools. The case count is still on a downward trend for infection and death rates.

The other day when I brought wife in for her legs to an ER they did have a room sealed with a doctor fully suited up treating what I can only think was a corona case.

Offline

#516 2020-07-14 06:44:09

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 19,221

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

For SpaceNut re the story at the link below ...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/former-fiat- … 12419.html

The article describes an invention in development by the Italian engineer who invented anti-locking brakes, which are now standard in the automotive industry.

The invention is designed to allow people with Covid-19 to talk to others in close proximity.  It causes air borne particles to be attracted back to the originator, while allowing normal compression waves in air (sound) to flow freely.

This technology (were it to succeed) would allow people in bars or restaurants (or perhaps other social situations) to interact without spreading the virus.

If quaoar is still reading the forum occasionally, I would like to offer an appreciation for Italian invention in this important field.

(th)

Offline

#518 2020-07-15 05:02:40

RobertDyck
Moderator
From: Winnipeg, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 7,924
Website

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Oh, crap! Tuesday our last case recovered. We would have been zero. But 5 new cases, of which 3 are related to travel. So we now have a total of 5 cases.

Offline

#519 2020-07-15 07:15:59

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 19,221

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

For RobertDyck re #518

According to Google (source is United Nations) Manitoba has/had a population of 1.369 million people.

If your report of a successful campaign to swat the bug as soon as it shows up is for the entire Province, that hover near zero is indeed impressive.

(th)

Offline

#520 2020-07-15 17:33:18

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 29,428

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

population density is a factor in cases of transmission.
Land (km²) 553,556 but that's just 1 factor; as its city density that really matters more.

New York  city population of 26,403 people per square mile (10,194/km²),
The higher the density allows for it to infect greater numbers to infect more and to allow for it to grow....

Offline

#521 2020-07-16 08:08:04

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 7,756

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

T cells were brought up a few posts ago, but I have been reading about them.  Not and expert yet...or ever, I think but helps to have some notions of what is going on.

This is encouraging, because they apparently can generate T cell immunity along with antibodies.
https://www.businessinsider.com/hopes-f … ugh-2020-7
Quote:

Blood samples taken from the group of 500 UK volunteers who were given a dose of the vaccine developed both antibodies and T-cells in response, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Things I have read are that after weeks or months, the antibodies become non-detectable.  However that does not necessarily mean that there are none left.  It could be that there would be a small reservoir that could be brought back up to speed.

However the "T" cell immunity does seem to offer greater hope, and at times like this it does not hurt to hope a bit.

Things I have read are that even people who had Sars and recovered have some T cell immunity to Covid-19.
Also in their testing they are finding that some people who never had Sars or Covid-19, show some T Cell immunity.  The speculation is that colds may have produced it.

The people who had Sars and show T cell immunity had it 17 years ago, and yet the T cell immunity is still active.  So, maybe we only have to get sick once or have a vaccine, and we might be relatively good for many years.

So, if we are lucky T cell immunity is more or less somewhat good for most or all Corona viruses.  However people who may be asymptomatic from T Cell immunity may still be spreaders for a period of time.  They don't know.

But I guess the biggest point is that you may not need obvious antibodies to fight off Corvid-19.  The T killer cells may handle it.

But then this is where wearing masks could be important, because even if they don't stop you from catching the virus, they should reduce the amount of virus load, so hopefully the T cells can nip it in the bud before you move on to actually get obviously sick.

I think mask wearing has to be encouraged as part of our culture, at least until vaccines are available to the general public, say in 2021?
Of course it is moral as well, because you are protecting other people by wearing one.

Done

Last edited by Void (2020-07-16 08:19:40)


End smile

Offline

#522 2020-07-16 16:25:54

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 29,428

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Seems there is good and bad through the pathways which target as the HIV virus used to spread through certain body fluids that attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells, often called T cells.  T cells, on the other hand, need other immune cells to chew up and present parts of the germ in small fragments, which can then be scrutinized. While the immune system's B cells make antibodies that block the novel coronavirus, its T cells provide another line of attack, according to new research. We will need lots of research for sure.

mandatory masks use by the states are on the increase and yet Georgia Govenor issue a ban on them... so big box stores are doing it instead with Cvs, Target, Walmart all setting the mask use to mandatory

Offline

#523 2020-07-16 18:45:24

RobertDyck
Moderator
From: Winnipeg, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 7,924
Website

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

For tahanson43206 re #519
That's correct. Population of Manitoba as of this quarter, according to Statistics Canada.
Population of the capital city, Winnipeg. Greater Metropolitan area: 844,566
So most of the population lives in one city, or it's surrounding bedroom communities. A big beautiful city surrounded by miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. The nearest city with a population over 1/4 million is Minneapolis MN: 8 hour drive at highway speed, one way.

Offline

#524 2020-07-17 05:11:45

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 19,221

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

For RobertDyck re #523

The achievement is all the more impressive, considering the density of the population! Bravo!

Here is an update that just showed up on Yahoo.  It might be useful in some places (koff koff) where your success has not been replicated.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/australian-r … 25254.html

The method uses a tiny sample of blood (I'm assuming a pin prick) to quickly determine if Covid-19 is present by looking for clotting of blood cells.

I assume (without anything else to go on) that there is a risk of false positive if there is another viral agent that causes similar clotting.

(th)

Offline

#525 2020-07-17 12:04:48

RobertDyck
Moderator
From: Winnipeg, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 7,924
Website

Re: 2019 NCOV a.k.a. Wuhan's Diseases

Arg! Yesterday 1 new case, today 5 new cases. So today's total: 11

Last death was May 5. Manitoba has had 336 cases, including today's cases. Only 7 have died. No one currently in hospital, those who do have COVID-19 are recovering at home.

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB