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How many microbes does it take to make you sick?

quantamagazine.org

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21–30 of 115 posts

Re: How many microbes does it take to make you sick?

#21

Post by beebeepka »

jameshart wrote: post #11
dorfsmay wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> boosting ourantibody response What I wonder is if we can develop immunity (not boosting, assuming never been infected before) from being exposed to small doses, or do we need at least one full blown infection.

Not sure why you are suggesting the basic mechanism of inoculation, which has been known for centuries and is the fundamental mechanism behind vaccination, as if it’s a novel hypothesis. Have I misunderstood what you’re getting at?

I think your understanding is fine. A friend of my wife once came up with the novel idea of renting books out of big buildins that are loaded with books. Brain farts happen to all of us

Re: How many microbes does it take to make you sick?

#24

Post by rand0mx1 »

curiousObject wrote: post #2

> A tiny enough dose may even serve to remind our immune system of a pathogen’s existence, boosting our antibody response to keep us protected against it. This article should be required reading, whatever your views on Covid and other conditions. Although the attack method of the infection is significant, and the potential victim’s defenses are significant, the raw quantity of infectious agent and the exposure rate a…

It should be exposure time or do you mean something else with "exposure rate"

Re: How many microbes does it take to make you sick?

#25

Post by dilyevsky »

vikramkr wrote: post #14
dorfsmay wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> boosting ourantibody response What I wonder is if we can develop immunity (not boosting, assuming never been infected before) from being exposed to small doses, or do we need at least one full blown infection.

Yep that's called vaccination! No need to get a full blown infection it's how we eradicated smallpox

That’s not vaccination that’s inoculation which is how they originally prevented smallpox before they developed an actual vaccine

Re: How many microbes does it take to make you sick?

#26

Post by Jabbles »

pton_xd wrote: post #12
Sakos wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of the reasons why masks are so important and why they don't need to be 100% effective. Just reducing the amount of viral load could turn a serious infection into something you might barely notice. edit: Imagine this being controversial. I didn't realize there were Covid deniers and skeptics here, because what I've stated is completely within established science.

> This is one of the reasons why masks are so important and why they don't need to be 100% effective. Just reducing the amount of viral load could turn a serious infection into something you might barely notice. It would be nice to have some numbers to back this up. Let's suppose the "viral load" to acquire a Covid infection is 18 particles, the same as norovirus detailed in the article. And let's say you're exposed…

From that link:

Our simulation also shows that wearing a mask can effectively reduce the spread of the viruses.

Re: How many microbes does it take to make you sick?

#27

Post by pton_xd »

Jabbles wrote: post #26
pton_xd wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is one of the reasons why masks are so important and why they don't need to be 100% effective. Just reducing the amount of viral load could turn a serious infection into something you might barely notice. It would be nice to have some numbers to back this up. Let's suppose the "viral load" to acquire a Covid infection is 18 particles, the same as norovirus detailed in the article. And let's say you're exposed…

From that link: Our simulation also shows that wearing a mask can effectively reduce the spread of the viruses.

Sure, by some metric masks are very effective at stopping viral particles. After all, in my example the mask will stop tens of thousands of viral particles from reaching you every minute.

Another metric is, will that stop you from getting sick? The threshhold is only 18 particles!

Re: How many microbes does it take to make you sick?

#28

Post by msie »

sfblah wrote: post #16
Sakos wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of the reasons why masks are so important and why they don't need to be 100% effective. Just reducing the amount of viral load could turn a serious infection into something you might barely notice. edit: Imagine this being controversial. I didn't realize there were Covid deniers and skeptics here, because what I've stated is completely within established science.

What you said isn’t controversial. It’s definitely right. The issue with masks is one side started treating them like a talisman that makes infection impossible, which provoked the other side to say they do nothing. On a population level, masks are probably close to ineffective against a viral pathogen. You can read the relevant Cochrane review to see that. On an individual level they obviously do something, but you…

That Cochrane review is faulty and one of the co-authors (Tom Jefferson) "works for the Brownstone Institute, a Covid-19 misinformation group that is powered by dark money."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/27/dont-b...

Re: How many microbes does it take to make you sick?

#29

Post by extrememacaroni »

user_7832 wrote: post #17
swayvil wrote: post #4

There is also bodily vigor to consider. When you are strong you are resistant. When you are weak you are susceptible. The difference can be huge. It's a good argument for clean living, regular exercise etc.

Why is this downvoted? Hygiene and exercise is sound advice that any doctor'd agree with.

Probably because the poor guy's theory isn't true for all possible cases ever, isn't peer reviewed etc.

Re: How many microbes does it take to make you sick?

#30

Post by slim »

rand0mx1 wrote: post #24
curiousObject wrote: post #2

> A tiny enough dose may even serve to remind our immune system of a pathogen’s existence, boosting our antibody response to keep us protected against it. This article should be required reading, whatever your views on Covid and other conditions. Although the attack method of the infection is significant, and the potential victim’s defenses are significant, the raw quantity of infectious agent and the exposure rate a…

It should be exposure time or do you mean something else with "exposure rate"

it could mean how many times you have been exposed to the virus in a month, for example
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