Covid-19 cases are on the rise again. The total number of active cases currently stand at 290 after 87 new patients were detected on Tuesday. People gathering in large numbers for Shigmotsav is conjectured to be the reason behind this rise. The number of covid-19 patients have noticeably increased in the past two weeks in the State and it cannot be ignored. Apart from Covid infections, the cases of coughing and cold are also increasing. It begins with a sore throat while some have fever. If the World Health Organisation is to be believed, the latest variant of the infection cannot be taken lightly as the virus has killed more than half a million people in the country.
However, people do not seem to be afraid of the deadly virus anymore. The use of masks have dropped down significantly and in the crowd, only rarely does one is seen using the same. It could be said that people have learnt to co-exist with the Covid virus. The percentage of detecting Covid positive patients is increasing as the number of cases are rising despite the decline in frequency of conducting the tests. If the tests were to be held right now the way they were done before, the number of active cases would be certainly eye-popping. It has become difficult for the people with cold, fever and sore throat to come out of their houses due to exhaustion. The healthiest of people seem to be down with the simple fever. A recent research by world renowned weekly magazine ‘Science’, says that this exhaustion is more of a reflexive action of the brain than the consequence of the infection. During the fever, most patients feel fatigue, their appetite slows down and they lose energy to do anything. As per the ‘Science’ academic journal, the exhaustion is not caused by the fever but it is the reflexive action of the brain where the instant the body learns about the potential fever, the nerve cells behind the throat send the signals to the brain. Thereafter, the mechanism in the body responsible to respond to the infection gets activated. The scientists have come to this conclusion after researching on rats with the influenza infections. The respective research also reveals that the fatigue and other symptoms are caused due to the chemical action of virus infected tissues. The research has also stated that the substances like prostaglandins cause this effect while the medicines like Ibuprofen work towards prevention of production of prostaglandins. Hence, even the simple fever would make one feel extremely weary. Similar experiences were witnessed earlier in the rural areas during the retreating monsoon. Most would be down with fever for at least two to three days and the infection would spread in innumerable villages. Many felt the same during the ongoing pandemic and this fever was also compared with the Covid virus. Now, Covid patients are increasing just when the pandemic is receding and a certain fear is creeping into the society. However, the aforementioned research would possibly prove to be a directional one to bring awareness. The change in the behavioural pattern of the rats were more evident after the increase in the infection in the lungs which impacts the respiratory system. The change in reactive behaviour during the illness not only provided safety against the fever but also seemed to have helped the rats during other kinds of illnesses. This gives scope to think that the potential loss of life in humans during illness will be almost eradicated if the humans behaved similarly. Hence it is important to look at this research with scrutinising eyes. The chances of survival during a disease such as bacterial sepsis are less if the rats consume more food than necessary as bacteria uses sugar in the animal blood as fuel. Hence, as per the researchers, lack of appetite and alternatively eating nothing during illness is in fact, ideal. The response and reaction from the brain once the virus enters the body of rats, symptoms such as exhaustion, loss in appetite, tiredness etc keep them away from other animals and reduces the risk of spreading the virus. This means that humans isolating themselves during the illness is quintessential. It is not clear whether the nerve cells in the throat can detect and notify the brain regarding bacterial viruses other than the influenza, but the exploratory efforts to reduce the fatality of the potential pandemics should be seen with a positive outlook.
