Double trouble and the 'Force of Infection'
Listen to a discussion about an overlooked pandemic phenomenon, and read about how we catch multiple viruses simultaneously.
We typically think of ourselves as getting sick with only one pathogen at a time. But new advances in testing are showing that our body can harbor multiple infections at the same time. Doctors are seeing kids with a combination of 2-3 respiratory viruses at once. For example, a child might have a mix of rhinovirus, parainfluenza and respiratory syncytial virus. These kinds of coinfections "are the rule rather than the exception," one doctor told me.
Here's why co-infections matter: Some studies have suggested that half of all COVID-19 deaths can be attributed to mixed infections. Additionally, people with SARS-CoV-2 and a second pathogen may have triple the odds of dying compared with those who have only COVID-19. And being co-infected with viruses is anything but rare. Recent screening studies have found that 14 to 70 percent of those hospitalized with flu-like illness test positive for more than one viral pathogen. In other words, we are walking petri dishes. Read more about coinfections—and how one scientist (who later won a Nobel Prize, but also later became a Nazi) used to treat people with syphilis by exposing them to malaria—in my latest story for The Atlantic:
Also, in case you missed it, this past week I guest-hosted the 2-hour national radio program Science Friday. It was an honor to sit in for Ira Flatow and talk with scientists about everything from the ‘Big Bang Theory of Cancer’ to the ‘Force of Infection’ in the pandemic. You can listen to the full program via iTunes or Spotify (part 1 and part 2), or via this link:
https://www.sciencefriday.com/episodes/november-19-2021/
Lastly, I was surprised and very happy to learn that my article for Elemental from July 2020 received an AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. If you missed that article, The Mystery of Why Some People Keep Testing Positive for Covid-19, you can read it here.