COVID Common Cold Virus Suppresses COVID-19

AI Thread Summary
Research indicates that human rhinovirus (HRV), which causes the common cold, may inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. In laboratory experiments, cells infected with both HRV and SARS-CoV-2 showed a significant decline in SARS-CoV-2 levels, suggesting that HRV can suppress the virus's replication. This phenomenon may reflect a broader pattern of viral interference, where seasonal infections like colds and flu take turns infecting populations rather than occurring simultaneously. The discussion also touches on the current absence of flu and cold cases due to social distancing measures, highlighting the unusual dynamics of viral infections during the pandemic.
Tom.G
Science Advisor
Gold Member
Messages
5,661
Reaction score
4,503
I'll trade a cold for Covid-19 any time!

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/a-common-cold-virus-may-help-fight-covid-19

To find out, the researchers infected cultures of human respiratory cells in the lab with either SARS-CoV-2, an HRV, or both viruses at the same time.

The cultures closely mimicked the outer layer of cells, called the epithelium, that lines the airways of the lungs.

SARS-CoV-2 steadily multiplied in the cells that the team had infected with this virus alone. However, in cells also infected with HRV, the number of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles declined rapidly until they were undetectable just 48 hours after the initial infection.

In further experiments, the scientists found that HRV suppressed the replication of SARS-CoV-2, regardless of which virus infected the cells first.

Cheers,
Tom
 
  • Like
  • Wow
  • Informative
Likes dlgoff, bhobba, berkeman and 2 others
Biology news on Phys.org
Well. I do understand the excitement, but with already observing the drift of the Sars-CoV-2, I'm not really sure we should force events which may result in a shift :nb)
 
This might be an early indicator of the rather strange phenomena of viral interference, it seems like most seasonal infections take turns at infecting the population rather than occurring together. It seems that the effects of a viral infection causes changes in the internal environment that effectively inhibits other viruses causing infection at the same time.
https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/212/11/1690/2911897
 
Tom.G said:
I'll trade a cold for Covid-19 any time!
With all the distancing, there's no flu going around. I guess it's the same with colds.
 
  • Like
Likes pinball1970
Somebody just made a joke out of the topic. :oldgrumpy:
 
Deadly cattle screwworm parasite found in US patient. What to know. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2025/08/25/new-world-screwworm-human-case/85813010007/ Exclusive: U.S. confirms nation's first travel-associated human screwworm case connected to Central American outbreak https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-confirms-nations-first-travel-associated-human-screwworm-case-connected-2025-08-25/...
Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S. According to articles in the Los Angeles Times, "Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S.", and "Kissing bugs bring deadly disease to California". LA Times requires a subscription. Related article -...
I am reading Nicholas Wade's book A Troublesome Inheritance. Please let's not make this thread a critique about the merits or demerits of the book. This thread is my attempt to understanding the evidence that Natural Selection in the human genome was recent and regional. On Page 103 of A Troublesome Inheritance, Wade writes the following: "The regional nature of selection was first made evident in a genomewide scan undertaken by Jonathan Pritchard, a population geneticist at the...

Similar threads

Back
Top