Received this by email so not my words.
This is just to arm you with information
Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who donāt understandā¦
It has to do with RNA sequencingā¦ I.e. genetics.
Seasonal flu is an āall human virusā. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system. This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each yearā¦ you get immunity two waysā¦through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.
Novel viruses, come from animalsā¦ the WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu). But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humansā¦ then itās a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunityā¦ the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isnāt human, and the human immune system doesnāt recognize it so, we canāt fight it off.
Nowā¦ sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years itās only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to humanā¦ once that happensā¦we have a new contagion phase. And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, thats what decides how contagious, or how deadly itās gonna beā¦
H1N1 was deadlyā¦but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. Itās RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.
Fast forward.
Now, here comes this Coronavirusā¦ it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how longā¦but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people. At first, only animals could give it to a personā¦ But here is the scary partā¦ in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, āslipperyā
This Coronavirus, not being in any form a āhumanā virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity). Took off like a rocket. And this was because, Humans have no known immunityā¦doctors have no known medicines for it.
And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus, changed itself in such a way the way that it causes great damage to human lungsā¦
Thatās why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenzaā¦ this one is slippery AF. And itās a lung eaterā¦And, itās already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain Lā¦which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.
We really have no tools in our shed, with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in the past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.
Factoid: Henry VIII stayed in his room and allowed no one near him, till the Black Plague passedā¦(honestlyā¦I understand him so much better now). Just like us, he had no tools in his shed, except social isolationā¦
And let me end by sayingā¦right now itās hitting older folks harderā¦ but this genome is so slipperyā¦if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say, what it will do next.
Be smart folksā¦ acting like youāre unafraid is so not sexy right now.
#flattenthecurve. Stay home folksā¦ and share this to those that just are not catching on. 
