It should be noted that a big part of smallpox variolation was not the viral dose, but the means by which it entered the body—a scratch instead of an orifice.
I proposed in a another thread that variolation of the GI tract, where there are known cell populations expressing ACE2, might be preferred to lung. Avoiding the lung infection from the the apical surface of AT2 lung cells sounds like a good idea.
It’s unclear to me that you wouldn’t end up with a worse clinical course in this case—perhaps you wouldn’t, but I’m not sure why you’d assume it’s safer.
It’s a superficially plausible idea, assuming you don’t always burp or vomit the virus up into your lungs anyway or get very slight viremia getting them there anyway too which is COMPLETLEY possible given what we know. And assuming you somehow get it into your gut without getting it into your throat. Huge numbers of assumptions, dosage unknown, methods unknown, effectiveness unknown. Superficially plausible and right now a very bad idea. You absolutely CANNOT assume it’s safer, but it could be something to look for in case studies of natural infections, seeing if people who first manifest with intestinal issues have lower levels of pneumonia.
If you COULD somehow reliably restrict viral replication to the gut rather than the lungs… I don’t think many first-world (or, to expand the sample, American) COVID patients have died of the diarrhea.
EDIT: “Patients with COVID-19 who have digestive symptoms were shown to have a worse prognosis than those without.”
I’m more concerned about increased rates of central nervous system impacts and cytokine storms, both of which are rare in typical COVID cases, but seem closely related to high fatality rates in the minority where they occur.
Study of symptoms in hospitalized patients: “Patients with COVID-19 who have digestive symptoms were shown to have a worse prognosis than those without.”
You could plausibly construct a chain of reasoning that lets you imagine that being exposed to the virus in the intestines first might decrease the odds of getting a lung infection. There is little to no actual *evidence* of this at this time, but it could be a thing to look at in case studies.
EDIT: “Patients with COVID-19 who have digestive symptoms were shown to have a worse prognosis than those without.”
It should be noted that a big part of smallpox variolation was not the viral dose, but the means by which it entered the body—a scratch instead of an orifice.
I proposed in a another thread that variolation of the GI tract, where there are known cell populations expressing ACE2, might be preferred to lung. Avoiding the lung infection from the the apical surface of AT2 lung cells sounds like a good idea.
It’s unclear to me that you wouldn’t end up with a worse clinical course in this case—perhaps you wouldn’t, but I’m not sure why you’d assume it’s safer.
It’s a superficially plausible idea, assuming you don’t always burp or vomit the virus up into your lungs anyway or get very slight viremia getting them there anyway too which is COMPLETLEY possible given what we know. And assuming you somehow get it into your gut without getting it into your throat. Huge numbers of assumptions, dosage unknown, methods unknown, effectiveness unknown. Superficially plausible and right now a very bad idea. You absolutely CANNOT assume it’s safer, but it could be something to look for in case studies of natural infections, seeing if people who first manifest with intestinal issues have lower levels of pneumonia.
If you COULD somehow reliably restrict viral replication to the gut rather than the lungs… I don’t think many first-world (or, to expand the sample, American) COVID patients have died of the diarrhea.
EDIT: “Patients with COVID-19 who have digestive symptoms were shown to have a worse prognosis than those without.”
https://www.practiceupdate.com/content/clinical-characteristics-of-covid-19-patients-with-digestive-symptoms-in-hubei-china/98000
I’m more concerned about increased rates of central nervous system impacts and cytokine storms, both of which are rare in typical COVID cases, but seem closely related to high fatality rates in the minority where they occur.
Study of symptoms in hospitalized patients: “Patients with COVID-19 who have digestive symptoms were shown to have a worse prognosis than those without.”
https://www.practiceupdate.com/content/clinical-characteristics-of-covid-19-patients-with-digestive-symptoms-in-hubei-china/98000
Wouldn’t the entry means it self function a bit like a control on the viral load?
However, that point is clearly something that should matter to the larger point I think is being made.
You could plausibly construct a chain of reasoning that lets you imagine that being exposed to the virus in the intestines first might decrease the odds of getting a lung infection. There is little to no actual *evidence* of this at this time, but it could be a thing to look at in case studies.
EDIT: “Patients with COVID-19 who have digestive symptoms were shown to have a worse prognosis than those without.”
https://www.practiceupdate.com/content/clinical-characteristics-of-covid-19-patients-with-digestive-symptoms-in-hubei-china/98000