Dear Reader:

Covid-19 is a viral airborne disease. Viral, means it’s caused by a virus, and airborne means that  the virus is transmitted through the air, via breathing, talking, coughing;  any activity which generate aerosols. (An aerosol is a fine solid particle or a liquid droplet suspended in air).

A few other viral airborne diseases are:

Chickenpox– there is a vaccine for it, the varicella vaccine. Some countries require the varicella vaccination before entering elementary school, and it is the routine immunization schedule in the US. A second dose is recommended five years after the initial immunization, but not all countries provide the vaccine. It is possible to measure a person’s antibodies levels, and if a person’s levels of antibodies are low (low titer), reimmunization may be done. Treatment for the disease consists mainly of easing the symptoms.

Measles– extremely contagious, nine out of ten people who are not immune and share living space with an infected person will be infected. Most people don’t get the disease more than once. There is a vaccine for it, the measles vaccine. It is effective at preventing the disease and it is exceptionally safe. It is often delivered in combination with other vaccines. Vaccination resulted in an 80% decrease in deaths from measles between 2000 and 2017. Once a person has become infected,  like in the case of the Chickenpox, no specific treatment is available, and treatment is about easing the symptoms, aka supportive care (oral rehydration solution, healthy food, and medications to control the fever). Antibiotics are prescribed if secondary bacterial infections such as ear infections or pneumonia occur following the viral infection. Measles affects about 20 million people a year, primarily in the developing areas of Africa and Asia. While often regarded as a childhood illness, it can affect people of any age. It is one of the leading vaccine-preventable disease causes of death. In 1980, 2.6 million people died of it, but  by 2014, global vaccination programs had reduced the number of deaths from measles to 73,000. Despite these trends, rates of disease and deaths increased from 2017 to 2019 due to a decrease in immunization.

Mumpsused to be quite common in the US, but no longer because of vaccination. Mumps is preventable by two doses of the mump vaccine. Most of the developed world includes it in their immunization programs, often in combination with measles, rubella and varicella vaccine. No specific treatment is known. Efforts involve controlling symptoms with pain medication. About one in 10,000 people who are infected die.

Influenza – to be continued tomorrow.

Note: viral diseases don’t really have a cure. Bacterial diseases are curable by antibiotics (except when the bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics), but viral diseases do not respond to antibiotics. The treatment is about controlling and easing the symptoms. This is why prevention is crucial: prevention by practicing hygiene, washing hands, disinfecting surfaces, etc. And getting VACCINATED. Vaccinations for viral diseases already saved millions of lives all over the world, so vaccinate yourself!

anita