Questions about the Corona virus

[afcsimoes]

TL;DR

To know how much we must prevent

1. are there H2O molecules inside a Corona vírus? If yes, drying the virus kills it?
2. the lipid external layer of the Corona virus acts as a glue that attach the virus to any surface?
3. how much time a Corona vírus survives in the dry air? and in a dry surface?

 

[berkeman]

Have a look through these FAQs to see if they help with those and other questions...

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html

 

[Laroxe]

Well, its generally thought drying produces a hostile environment, it certainly does for most cells and the virus will often be carried inside cells.
Having said that the lipid coat isn't a glue, its job is to protect the virus, I know its been suggested that in dry conditions it becomes semi solid protecting the virus from dehydrating.

Most people consider that the virus persists longer in cool dry conditions, its difficult to put a set time on it, there are various studies that have come up with a very wide range of results and these are influenced by the type of surface. It seems fairly clear the virus can remain viable for several hours but some studies have suggested this can extend into days. We don't know the amount of virus that needs to be present to be considered a risk for infection. The greatest risk is from exposure to infected cells, carried in droplets, from a cough or a sneeze from someone in the early stages of infection.

 

[Vrbic]

If the virus contains water, freeze and thus perish? Or how does it react to freezing temperatures?

 

[jim mcnamara]

The virus is not alive. Think of it as a chemical. We have threads on this subject. This virus has RNA, and a protein coat. That's pretty much all it has. No lipids. This picture shows it in an easy to understand way:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Schematic-diagram-of-the-SARS-coronavirus-structure-reproduced-from-ref-20The-viral_fig2_8149726

 

[Ygggdrasil]

No lipids.

Like most viruses, coronaviruses contain an envelope that is derived from phospholipids in the plasma membrane of the cells it infects. The lipids themselves are not encoded by the virus, but they are nevertheless an essential part of the virus's structure. Part of the reason why soap is effective at killing the virus is that it soap can disrupt the lipid bilayer surrounding the virus and inactivate the virus.

 

[jim mcnamara]

@Ygggdrasil Thanks for the correction. Now I have the warm fuzzies from washing my hands frequently

 

[lavinia]

It seems that this virus is producing unforeseen symptoms and I wonder what about its structure is importantly different from previously studied corona viruses and how would these differences produce these strange pathologies?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robert...in-young-and-middle-aged-people/#6ad5a88034df

https://jcm.asm.org/content/58/5/e00187-20