Immunity of Pakistanis and Indians?

[big_pappa_cricket99]

Does the fact that Subcontinental people have to deal with lots of bacteria in their surroundings and thus , may have a better immune system shield them from covid-19? For instance a European goes to the Indan subcontinent usually gets I'll however it rarely works the other way . Thoughts ? I'm guessing our white blood cells may be the size of tadpoles in Pakistan. Just a 100 meters from my house is a rubbish dump inhabited with god knows how many strains of viruses.....the human body has a remarkable penchant for adaptation.

 

[Sirris]

Bacteria and viruses are two different things. No amount of antibiotic will work on a virus.

Simply said Immunity occurs when your body is exposed to a virus, then the immune response starts producing all type of anti-bodies to kill it. You can imagine them as small foot soldiers with a unique weapon, they attack the virus and kill. The thing is that every virus needs its own unique foot soldier with its unique weapon to kill it. Once a certain anti-body is able to kill a particular virus our body saves the code of that anti-body. Next time when we get attacked by the same virus the body knows which unique foot soldier needs to be produced to kill the enemy.

So you could be exposed to 10000 kinds of different viruses and survive. This mean your immune system has a HUGE data base of 10000 different unique anti-bodies. However the moment you are exposed to a totally new virus you are as much screwed as the guy who has been exposed to very few viruses. Both immune system don't know which unique anti-body will kill it and then goes into overdrive in an effort to find the right match. This is why viruses keep on mutating and changing their shape so that the previous anti-bodies aren't able to kill them.

So far no immunity among humans had been found.

I do remember reading some comments online when the virus first outbreak in china that the Chinese have weaker immune system etc. We humans are more alike than we are different.

 

[Sirris]

Think of this way, Pakistan still suffers from Polio disease. While it is extinct in Europe. Why is it so? Why is years of being exposed to dirt and garbage not helping?

Because in Europe everybody gets an specific anti-Polio vaccination. A vaccination is nothing other than the weaker version of the virus which makes it easier for the immune system to come up with the right anti-body and save its blueprint. No amount of living in a dirty environment is going to make you immune to a specific virus if it isn't there. It will only make you immune to the viruses you have been exposed to provided an immunity against that virus is even possible in the first place.

With Coronavirus no immunity has been proven yet. This mean that even the people who recover from the virus haven't been able to show that their immune system is capable of producing the anti-bodies necessary to defeat Coronavirus the next them they are exposed to it.

 

[big_pappa_cricket99]

Think of this way, Pakistan still suffers from Polio disease. While it is extinct in Europe. Why is it so? Why is years of being exposed to dirt and garbage not helping?

Because in Europe everybody gets an specific anti-Polio vaccination. A vaccination is nothing other than the weaker version of the virus which makes it easier for the immune system to come up with the right anti-body and save its blueprint. No amount of living in a dirty environment is going to make you immune to a specific virus if it isn't there. It will only make you immune to the viruses you have been exposed to provided an immunity against that virus is even possible in the first place.

With Coronavirus no immunity has been proven yet. This mean that even the people who recover from the virus haven't been able to show that their immune system is capable of producing the anti-bodies necessary to defeat Coronavirus the next them they are exposed to it.

Nicely explained. The only hope is that the body is optimised in fighting off other viruses and developing "the specific foot soldier " as you have put it, so it may be able tofind some immunology to the virus at a quicker rate . It's like a car that's been serviced operating optimally and one that's not been serviced for a while not driving so well , that's the best analogy I can come up with .

 

[irfan]

I was reading it affects blood type A more, I believe desi populations have higher % of B so are less susceptible to it whereas European populations have higher A % in the population

https://www.forbes.com/sites/clarye...s-susceptibility-means-for-future-treatments/

 

[big_pappa_cricket99]

Guessing the immune systems of desi's has a much larger database of stored immunity against viruses , So hoping our bodies can learn and adapt at a much more optimal rate and come up with a intrinsic vaccine.

Terrified of the prospects of an outbreak in my city from a combination of various factors including extremely high population density , Multi generational households, a lack of understanding and a casual attitude to the necessary precautions, A reliance on religion and faith and ignoring of medical practises ( In contradiction to the Prophet Peace be upon him warning of contagious diseases and advising of necessary precautions ) , A lack of access to professional medical care for a sizeable portion of the population and a very low ratio of doctor to patient population . It's the perfect storm for covid -19 to wreak Havoc. Hope in wrong scary times ahead.

 

[Sirris]

Nicely explained. The only hope is that the body is optimised in fighting off other viruses and developing "the specific foot soldier " as you have put it, so it may be able tofind some immunology to the virus at a quicker rate . It's like a car that's been serviced operating optimally and one that's not been serviced for a while not driving so well , that's the best analogy I can come up with .

Nice analogy!

The immune system however is a pretty complex thing. It's not always simply a question of developing the right anti-bodies. In case of Coronavirus we get seriously ill because the virus is able to manipulate our immune system. The virus uses our immune system against us. It manipulates the immune system and confuses it. The immune system goes over board activates beast mode and ends up killing healthy cells of the lungs too. The outer layer of the lungs begin to die which is actually the lungs shield against all kinds of Bacteria. Once the layer is damaged the inner part of our lungs become vulnerable and gets attacked by Bacteria which cause pneumonia. This is what happens to those who get critically ill and ultimately die.

Watch this fun illustration it explains the whole thing nicely.

 

[Sirris]

Guessing the immune systems of desi's has a much larger database of stored immunity against viruses , So hoping our bodies can learn and adapt at a much more optimal rate and come up with a intrinsic vaccine.

Terrified of the prospects of an outbreak in my city from a combination of various factors including extremely high population density , Multi generational households, a lack of understanding and a casual attitude to the necessary precautions, A reliance on religion and faith and ignoring of medical practises ( In contradiction to the Prophet Peace be upon him warning of contagious diseases and advising of necessary precautions ) , A lack of access to professional medical care for a sizeable portion of the population and a very low ratio of doctor to patient population . It's the perfect storm for covid -19 to wreak Havoc. Hope in wrong scary times ahead.

As long as you understand the danger and communicate the proper defense against the virus to your relatives you should be safe. I still believe the virus in Pakistan is only concentrated in certain hotspots and for an average person there is no need for panic yet. As I brainstormed my reasons here http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?292964-Pakistan-s-strategy-to-stop-the-spread-of-Cornavirus-the-numbers-are-rising-no-need-to-panic-yet!

The schools are closed. Hence all those members of the household who don't have to go out for necessary stuff like work should be banned from leaving the house. They can hang out on the roof or in the garden for fresh air but that's it.

Appoint one person from your household who is responsible for groceries. This person should be drilled on how to behave in public. At least 2 m distance when talking and interacting with people from outside the household. Yes I know the personal space is limited in public but as long as you aren't interacting with the person in close distance you should be fine. Within the household the family members who don't leave the house should keep their distance from those who go outside the house regularly. Especially from the elderly. I know it's difficult but that's the best defense for now.

People in Pakistan might not be taking it seriously yet, perhaps a number of dead bodies is necessary for people to wake up. Sad. It will be what it will be. Eventually people will wake up and pay attention. Your first priority should be to keep your family and loved one safe and that's possible without the whole country being on board.