Recent comments in /f/askscience

SolasHealth t1_j7o8yrl wrote

Reply to How many hepatitis viruses exist? by Juergenvonwuergen

There are five viruses that cause the different forms of viral hepatitis:hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. Hepatitis A is primarily a food-borne illness that can be transmitted via contaminated water and unwashed food. Hepatit B is the most easily transmitted, especially in children. It can be transmitted through contaminated blood, needles, syringes, or bodily fluids, as well as from mother to baby. After many years of carrying the virus, it can cause long-term liver damage, liver cancer, and cirrhosis of the liver in some cases. Hepatitis C is only passed from mother to child during childbirth or through infected blood. In the long run, it can also cause liver cancer and cirrhosis.Hepatitis D is only found in people who also have hepatitis B. Hepatitis E is most common in Africa, Asia, and South America. When taken in excess or at very high doses, certain generally safe medications can be toxic to the liver and cause hepatitis (drug-induced hepatitis).

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WanderlustLife4Ever t1_j7o6h00 wrote

Reply to comment by Aganihm1 in Are people with autoimmune diseases less likely to get viral infections? How about cancers? by Selfeducated

To add to this, having one autoimmune such as Hashimoto’s can also increase your risk of developing another autoimmune like Lupus. So even if one is relatively treatable, another that co-occurs may not be medically managed as well or have it’s own medical conditions associated with it.

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Straight-Plankton-15 t1_j7o2vau wrote

Reply to comment by Asterose in (Virology) Has SARS-CoV-2 outcompeted all the other coronaviruses which have been called the ‘common cold’? by jsgui

>Complaints about scientists "not being 100% certain" and "they keep changing what they're saying" are red flags revealing people who do not understand how science works

It's not that deep. If you're averse to non-personal questions, this isn't the correct sub.

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Straight-Plankton-15 t1_j7o2e0x wrote

Reply to comment by atred in (Virology) Has SARS-CoV-2 outcompeted all the other coronaviruses which have been called the ‘common cold’? by jsgui

I think this comparison was probably because the viral polymerases encoded by coronaviruses are less prone per cycle to replication errors that cause mutations than some other viruses, such as influenza viruses. So for each instance at a molecular level of a polymerase replicating an mRNA sequence, a mutation is more likely for influenza viruses than for coronaviruses.

At the same time, an extremely infective virus like SARS-CoV-2 (especially with newer variants) will produce so much viral load that there becomes more opportunity for mutations per infection. Combine that with far more individuals being infected with SARS-CoV-2 each year than influenza, and you have SARS-CoV-2 mutating at a much faster rate.

Stopping the spread of the virus would be the most effective strategy to stop the continued development of new mutations.

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