The common cold is very common among humans. But is there a way to destroy it completely? Well, in this article we will be theorizing what would happen to the common cold if everyone isolated themselves from one another.
What is common cold?
Before we dive in into that, let us take a look at what the common cold is. The common cold is a viral infection of our upper respiratory tract, mainly consisting of the nose, throat, and sinuses. It is caused by a variety of viruses, with the most common one being rhinovirus.
Not to be confused with flu, however, flu and cold are similar but 2 entirely different conditions. Both of them share the same symptoms, but the common cold tend to be milder in severity and the accompanying symptoms that follow are not lethal as those accompanying the flu, which can lead to further health complications such as pneumonia.
So how do these viruses spread, exactly?
These viruses usually transmit through aerosols of respiratory droplets; such as coughing and sneezing. The viruses will then infect the cells in your nose and throat and use them to produce more viruses. Fortunately, within a few days, our body immune system will be able to detect these viruses and eliminate them. Your body will be immune to this particular virus strain and this immunity will usually last up to a few years.
The most interesting thing about the cold is that there is no vaccine for it. This is due to how quickly it changes its genetic composition! Although the cold will go away if left it to a perfectly functioning immune system. Cold keeps getting transmitted every day, to millions of other people through daily interactions in high-density urban cities. This means it is the perfect environment for colds to thrive. What if, however, we were to quarantine everyone from one another?
There are numbers of issues that immediately come to mind.
One of them is how far apart can we actually get from one another. If we were to spread the earth’s surface evenly, there will just be enough room for everyone to have a little over 2 hectares each and with a distance of 77 meters between us and the nearest person. And although 77 meters is actually quite the distance, this separation doesn’t quite exactly account for the fact that there will be people standing on the peak of the Himalayas or bearing the pinnacle of heat in the Sahara desert. Still sounds feasible?
Well, from a biological point of view, rhinoviruses can only be transmitted through humans. Furthermore the fact that rhinovirus does not spread to animals, which means that no other species can serve as a viable vessel. Simply put, if rhinoviruses don’t have enough humans to move between, they will die out.
This is evident from viral extinction in isolated populations.
An example is the remote islands of St. Kilda, located northwest of Scotland. This island only has a population of about 100 people and only a few boats visits a year. This population of people suffered an unusual syndrome called the “stranger’s cough”. For centuries, the cough swept the island like clockwork every time a new boat arrived. The exact cause for this syndrome is unknown but it’s probably rhinovirus that is responsible for this. These virus strains would sweep the islands, infecting virtually everyone. After several weeks, the residents would grow fresh immunity to those strains. The remains of the strains will be left nowhere to go and die out.
If the whole human population were to isolated from each other, the St. Kilda scenario would play out. After a few weeks, the rhinoviruses be will destroyed by our healthy immune system and eventually extinct.
Make peace with the virus?
Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that everyone will have an immune system powerful enough to remove the virus. Rhinoviruses are cleared from most people within 10 days. However, people with complications such as transplant patients will have a weakened immune system. They can take up to months or years to clear the virus. So unless everyone is content to stay isolated for that long of a duration, maybe we should just make peace with the virus.
In fact, the existence of rhinoviruses may not be bad at all. Children who are not exposed to rhinoviruses have more immune disorders after reaching adolescence. The existence of rhinoviruses can cause mild infection serves to strengthen our body immune system, and in turn, may protect us from even more deadly viruses like flu.
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