The droplet infection is considered to be the main way of transmitting Covid-19.
The question of how many viruses have to enter the body in order to trigger the disease now seems to have been clarified.
Coronaviruses enter the body via the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth and throat and can trigger serious symptoms * there.
Face masks and distance rules are considered useful protective measures to protect yourself from the viruses.
A Viennese scientist has now found out
how many viruses actually have to penetrate the body to ignite Covid-19
.
500 coronaviruses - that's how many viruses it takes to trigger a Covid 19 disease.
This is the conclusion reached by Andreas Bergthaler from the Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) in Vienna.
He and his colleagues investigated the question of how high the viral load must be for a person to develop the disease
.
To this end, Bergthaler examined the genetic make-up of the viruses in the vectors and the people infected by them.
The couples were identified by tracking the contact persons, as the portal oe24.at informs.
The research team found that many coronavirus variants from the carrier were found in the infected.
On average, there were around 500 viruses that were transmitted per infection
, according to virologist Andreas Bergthaler in an online lecture by the Vienna Science, Research and Technology Fund (WWTF).
His conclusion: Many viruses are necessary to trigger Covid-19 - the number of 500 viruses is also quite high compared with other viral diseases, Bergthaler is quoted by oe24.
Also read
: This is what happens with a coronavirus infection in the body
.
Corona: Many viruses are necessary to trigger Covid-19
"With HIV, it is assumed that a single virus is enough to start a new infection," says Bergthaler oe24.
In the case of the virus flu, different numbers are circulating
: some researchers assume ten, others from 100 viruses that can trigger an infection.
According to the study results, whether and how badly you get Covid-19 could be “pure numbers”, according to Bergthaler.
The Viennese researcher assumes that contact with a few viruses would result in a mild course of the disease - or that the infected person would not get sick at all.
According to Bergthaler, measures such as wearing mouth and nose protection and keeping
your
distance can ensure that you come into contact with far fewer viruses
, which not only reduces your own risk of disease, but could also extremely weaken the spread of the pandemic.
(jg)
*
Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network
.
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