Coronavirus thread

[Nephrology]

That's a start, thanks for the link.

Cardiac histopathology findings are really interesting:

. The sections of myocardium did not show any large or confluent areas of myocyte necrosis. The cardiac histopathology was remarkable, however, for scattered individual cell myocyte necrosis in each heart examined. In rare areas, lymphocytes were adjacent to, but not surrounding degenerating myocytes. Whether this may represent an early manifestation of a viral myocarditis is not certain, but there was no significant brisk lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate consistent with the typical pattern of viral myocarditis. This may be consistent with a recent paper by Chen et al. that hypothesizes that pericytes may be infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and cause capillary endothelial cell/microvascular dysfunction which may cause individual cell necrosis.3 There was no obvious viral cytopathic effect by light microscopy, but direct viral infection of myocytes cannot be entirely ruled out in this limited examination.

[Joe in PNG]

we now lead the world in deaths, total cases, and critical cases.

Reported deaths. There's many good reasons to suspect that China is seriously under-reporting their true situation.

[shootist26]

Reported deaths. There's many good reasons to suspect that China is seriously under-reporting their true situation.

No crap, but nobody in the media cares about that.

In hard hit European countries, they (the people and the gov) are generally taking it way more serious than we are. They are flattening the curve while we are still on the upswing.

This is not a good sign for us.

[Joe in PNG]

No crap, but nobody in the media cares about that.

In hard hit European countries, they (the people and the gov) are generally taking it way more serious than we are. They are flattening the curve while we are still on the upswing.

This is not a good sign for us.

Again, reportedly. Don't fall into Gell-Mann Amnesia about what's being reported, and don't fall into the trap of thinking that Europe is one single large country with one single policy.
"Europe" encompasses a whole lot of different approaches, from "let's do nothing!" that Sweden & England tried for a while, to Germany's more widespread testing, and so on.

Edit to add this link: These countries are reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic – here's how they're doing it

[shootist26]

Again, reportedly. Don't fall into Gell-Mann Amnesia about what's being reported, and don't fall into the trap of thinking that Europe is one single large country with one single policy.
"Europe" encompasses a whole lot of different approaches, from "let's do nothing!" that Sweden & England tried for a while, to Germany's more widespread testing, and so on.

Look at how Spain Italy and France are flattening the curve and what they had to do to get there.

Meanwhile Americans are still treating it like an early summer vacation. And we are paying the price with 500k infections and counting.

[Joe in PNG]

From my link above:

People in the Czech Republic can now shop at hardware and bicycle stores, play tennis and go swimming. Austria plans to reopen smaller shops after Easter.
Denmark will reopen kindergartens and schools from next week if coronavirus cases remain stable, and children in Norway will return to kindergarten a week later.
These nations are the first in the West to start feeling their way gradually out of the limits on daily life imposed by governments to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

[shootist26]

From my link above:

Those northern countries have been lucky to have fewer Chinese tourists in the winter months seeding the population. Plus fewer direct air routes to and from China. So their low infection numbers are more due to good fortune, plus an attentive population that pays heed to social distancing calls.

Temperate locations like Italy Spain and the US have a massive air route via China and hence got hit hard. But we aren't doing what is needed to be done to flatten the curve. We are still on the upswing and that is very bad when you have 500k cases confirmed.

[YVK]

Norway has like 100 deaths or something, and 1.7% CFR. Plus they know that virus went along the path of lower resistance to kill some Swedes instead. They should be breathing easier.

Cardiac histopathology findings are really interesting:

So far nothing particular that I can think of as a specific therapeutic target. I was actually more intrigued by microangiopathic changes in the lungs. In conjunction with enlarged RV findings one could speculate a severe acute pulmonary hypertension, so perhaps heparin and nitric oxide are worth considering. Of course, all patients were obese and all were severely hypoxemic, so RV enlargement could be just because of that.

[Joe in PNG]

Those northern countries have been lucky to have fewer Chinese tourists in the winter months seeding the population. Plus fewer direct air routes to and from China. So their low infection numbers are more due to good fortune, plus an attentive population that pays heed to social distancing calls.

Temperate locations like Italy Spain and the US have a massive air route via China and hence got hit hard. But we aren't doing what is needed to be done to flatten the curve. We are still on the upswing and that is very bad when you have 500k cases confirmed.

There's another problem- we live in a nation of laws that are supposed to keep the government from taking our life, liberty, and property without due process. Because of that, we don't have an Easy Button for locking people down (see life, liberty, property). In some ways, that is a good thing- do you really want our government shooting people for being outside?

But freedom carries with it the responsibility to not be an idiot if you want to keep that freedom. The more people act like idiots and ignore suggestions, the more laws get changed to remove that freedom.

Edit to add: Consider the outcry following any mass shooting. People wonder why other people are allowed to own scary black guns- and point to how Europe doesn't have that problem, and cry for an immediate ban and confiscation. Which doesn't happen, because our laws protect that right.

[shootist26]

There's another problem- we live in a nation of laws that are supposed to keep the government from taking our life, liberty, and property without due process. Because of that, we don't have an Easy Button for locking people down (see life, liberty, property). In some ways, that is a good thing- do you really want our government shooting people for being outside?

But freedom carries with it the responsibility to not be an idiot if you want to keep that freedom. The more people act like idiots and ignore suggestions, the more laws get changed to remove that freedom.

Edit to add: Consider the outcry following any mass shooting. People wonder why other people are allowed to own scary black guns- and point to how Europe doesn't have that problem, and cry for an immediate ban and confiscation. Which doesn't happen, because our laws protect that right.

Your concern can be mitigated by having a competent leader who can both educate the public about the danger and inspire people to actually act on social distancing/minimizing nonessential trips. Believe it or not most people will step up when provided with clear, competent advice.

But instead we get someone who rambles on and on during his task force press conferences and feuds with reporters. Not a good look during a public health crisis.