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James Hamilton, M. D.
Dave B. and Mike McL.,
First the easy stuff: that armadillo-like animal is a pangolin. It is eaten in some countries and cultures as are bats. They must have interesting buffets!
My comments here are my opinions and thoughts based on the current status of knowledge and facts that are being reported in the medical literature and some that are in the lay press.
Zoonotic and vector borne diseases have become quite a topic in the past few decades. Vector borne diseases are spread from animals to man via mosquitos, flies, fleas, ticks and other insects. Examples would be malaria, Zika, Dengue, West Nile, Chikungunya, Lyme, plague, malaria, etc. Zoonoses usually come from direct contact with the animal by consumption, bites or physical contact. These include things like rabies, certain prion diseases and ebola. Some zoonotic diseases are capable of then being transmitted human to human. That is what occurred in HIV and SARS-CoV-2. This may or may not be due to mutations in the pathogen.
As the human race becomes more present and in contact with the wild animal world I believe we shall see more of these illnesses arise.
SARS-CoV-2 is an extremely complex microorganism. We know that, although its primary target is the respiratory system, it can infect many other organs. In fact, I suspect it is able to infect them all. Its main attachment target is the ACE-2 receptor. Once attached it can enter a cell, take over the cell's machinery causing it to make more viral particles. Those particles are then released and go on to infect more and more cells. Where are these ACE-2 receptors? They are widespread throughout the body. Many are in the heart and respiratory cells but they are also found in the endothelial (lining) of blood vessels. And blood vessels are everywhere. By autopsy and imiging techniques we know that some patients show abnormalities in very important organs like lungs, hearts, brain and kidneys. This virus also tends to activate the coagulation cascade causing thrombus and embolus formation. Pathologic specimens of the lungs show small and large clots in the pulmonary vasculature which could have come from deep veins in the pelvis or legs (emboli) or formed in the lung vessels themselves (thrombi).
I will not get into the "cytokine storm" which I have disussed in past posts. I will say that even that part of COVID-19 pathology is now being questioned as some research points to it not being a major factor. Time and more studies are needed.
There are several infectious disease models in which, after the primary infection, sequellae arise months to years later, sometimes decades. Rheumatic Fever (after Scarlet Fever from strep infection), Lyme disease (after the original tick borne infection) and Jacob-Creutzfeldt disease (decades after a prion infection) are examples. Is there such a thing with COVID-19? I think it is WAY to early to make that determination.
Many patients who were hospitalized, needed ICU and perhaps ventilator care have displayed some persistant symptoms to include fatigue, mental alertness problems, shortness of breath and other maladies. This brings up the question as to whether there is a persistant viral infection or a post viral syndrome involved. Some of those symptoms could also suggest "Post ICU Syndrome" which has been known for long before this pandemic ever existed.( It shares some, but not all, characteristics of PTSD. We all know about combat related PTSD but the syndrome can occur in others who have experienced harrowing life experiences.) Post ICU Syndrome is becoming more recognized and is being discussed more often in the medical literature over the past decade or so.
In regards to dietary measures to aid any sequellae from COVID-19, I have my doubts. Good nutrition is always a good idea. But, in these situations of post-infectious syndromes, where often the immune system is somehow "triggered" to abnormally respond over a period of months to years to decades, I do not think specific dietary changes will turn off that response.
Hope this helps,
Jim
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