Seriously?
Getting very sick with COVID-19 is like being bitten by a poisonous rattlesnake, according to a new medical study.
According to the analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers at Stony Brook University in Long Island have identified a coronavirus enzyme that wipes out the body as the neurotoxins of rattlesnake poison.
According to scientists in the study from the SUNY school, the University of Arizona and the University of Wake Forest, point out the enzyme, which causes severe inflammation, could better treat and save the lives of COVID-19 patients in the midst of resurgence of the virus with the Delta variant.
The coronavirus enzyme, sPLA2-II, has similarities to an enzyme active in rattlesnake venom that is normally found in low concentrations in healthy individuals and has long been known to play a critical role in human defense. against bacterial infections, according to the study.
But when the same enzyme circulates at high levels, it can “crush” the membranes of vital organs, according to Floyd “Ski” of the University of Arizona, Chilton, lead author of the paper.
“The study supports a new therapeutic target to reduce or even prevent mortality from COVID-19,” explained co-author Dr. Maurizio Del Poeta of Stony Brook’s Renaissance School of Medicine.
“Because sPLA2-IIA inhibitors already exist, our study supports the use of these inhibitors in patients with elevated sPLA2-IIA levels to reduce or even prevent mortality from COVID-19.”
Del Poeta said Chilton contacted Stony Brook to analyze blood samples in COVID-19 patients to study the snake venom-like enzyme.
Dr. Del Poeta and his team, co-led by him and research assistant Jeehyun Karen You, collected stored samples of blood plasma and analyzed the medical letters of 127 patients hospitalized at Stony Brook University Hospital between January and July 2020.
A collection of 154 patient samples from Stony Brook and Banner University Medical Center in Tucson between January and November 2020 was also examined.
“Our study is especially timely given how the Delta variant contributes to increasing COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates both in the U.S. and worldwide,” he said.
As of Friday, 55,453 people have died from COVID-19 in New York State, according to data provided by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“As the Delta variant makes its way through communities across the country, it is crucial that we continue to do everything we can to protect each other from the COVID virus,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Sunday.
“Put on a mask and, if you haven’t already, get the vaccine as soon as you can. The vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones. “
Hochul and the State Department of Health on Friday issued a warrant forcing public and private school staff and students to wear masks for the new academic year to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Last week, the DOH also passed an emergency standard that required virtually all 450,000 health care workers in hospitals, nursing homes and other establishments to receive the coronavirus vaccine or face disciplinary action, including dismissal.
Meanwhile, 634,157 people died from coronavirus across the United States.