The four ways Covid-19 spreads differently to the flu, making it so deadly

Coronavirus cases have increased recently and the country is in the midst of yet another lockdown.

However, as winter approaches, many people might not know what the real difference between Covid-19 and the flu is.

We all constantly hear about the coronavirus and how it is so deadly – but what really makes the difference and what about those who foolishly claim ‘it’s not worse than the flu “?

Birmingham Public Health Director Dr Justin Varney told BirminghamLive the difference. Speaking on a special on Facebook Live, he said, “It certainly isn’t the flu. It’s a different type of organism.

“If you look at it under a microscope, it looks totally different.

“But it also behaves differently. The flu is a respiratory disease and mainly people get really sick because when you get the severe flu you have breathing problems and you can have fluid in your lungs, and we call that pneumonia.

“The coronavirus does that, but it does other things as well. It seems to stop people from clotting, so they end up with blood clots.

“It also gives people a high fever, and the flu doesn’t necessarily do that.”

Here are four more ways Covid-19 differs from seasonal flu, with help from The Mirror.

Scientists have yet to see human immunity to Covid-19

We do not yet have a vaccine against Covid-19 as each year the NHS offers a new vaccine against the flu that fights the last seasonal strain.

Scientists say Covid spreads more than seasonal flu – and our lack of immunity is a major factor.

Professor Linsey Marr, expert in airborne viruses, who lectures on civil and environmental engineering at the American University Virginia Tech, warns that the lack of immunity to Covid-19 in populations leads to so-called “ super-spreader ”.

Professor Marr explained to the Huffington Post how more people in a given room are more likely to catch the coronavirus than the flu and this is not related to the nature of the virus itself, but rather the lack of immunity Population.

So, as we already know, the race to find a vaccine for Covid-19 is vitally important if we are to fight this virus here and now – and in the years to come, as we do with seasonal flu. .

Some people with Covid-19 are ‘asymptomatic’ and have no symptoms

Covid-19 and the flu share several symptoms, including a high temperature and cough.

Both could see that you were feeling a dry cough and with Covid the cough would be persistent.

While people with the flu often experience headaches and loss of appetite.

But scientists found at the start of the pandemic that some people can catch and carry Covid-19 without showing symptoms.

And that’s another reason the coronavirus is spreading more widely and faster than the seasonal flu.

If someone has no idea they have the virus – because there are no signs of symptoms – then they won’t self-isolate or avoid people, which means they are ‘it will spread it unintentionally.

Some scientists have even suggested that around 40 to 50% of people who catch Covid-19 are asymptomatic.

In some cases of the flu, people have not shown any symptoms, but one key difference is that the ‘incubation period’ of Covid-19 is longer.

Professor Marr explained how the incubation period – the time between exposure to a virus and the onset or not of symptoms – can reach 14 days with Covid, when people with the flu tend to show symptoms after three days.

This means that the window for spreading the flu to others and / or unintentionally doing so is much shorter.

The flu’s “viral load” – the amount of a virus in body fluid – doesn’t tend to start until symptoms are visible.

But with Covid-19, it could take up to a fortnight.

Higher viral spread

Professor Marr explained how a person who has caught the seasonal flu will pass it to an average of 1.3 other people.

But with the coronavirus, that viral spread is almost double – at 2.5 people.

An example of a super-spreader event took place in the White House rose garden, when leading U.S. scientist Dr.Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, revealed that at least 11 people have caught the virus.

Donald Trump’s team neglected to wear masks during the pandemic, and during the September White House event we saw how Covid-19 can spread to more than 10 people during one event.

Dr Fauci said at the time: “We had a super spreader event at the White House, and it was in a situation where people were crowded together and not wearing masks.”

And Professor Marr backs that up, pointing out how successful social distancing and the proper use of face coverings makes the spread of Covid more difficult at a rate of 2.5.

Transmission of Covid is different in children compared to adults

Top researchers at King’s College London, Britain, have found that children have different symptoms of Covid than adults, confirming other studies suggesting that the transmission of the virus is different for children and adults.

And the World Health Organization has already declared that “children are important drivers of the transmission of the influenza virus in the community”.

He added: “For the Covid-19 virus, initial data indicates that children are less affected than adults and that clinical attack rates in the 0-19 age group are low.

“Other preliminary data from studies of household transmission in China suggests that children are infected from adults, rather than the other way around.”

The WHO has also recalled that when it comes to seasonal flu, children are known to be at greater risk of developing severe infections.

Children under 6 months of age are at the greatest risk of serious complications from the flu because of their weaker and more fragile immune systems, and because they are too young to receive the flu shot.

Pregnant women, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions are also at higher risk of getting the flu – as they are with Covid.

But for children at least, with the coronavirus, it seems children are doing well, as the main risk is seen in the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions.

WHO added: “For Covid-19, our current understanding is that advanced age and underlying conditions increase the risk of serious infection.”