7. In order for it to cause disease,
the pathogen (a disease-causing microbe) entering the body must reproduce in sufficient numbers before it is eventually overwhelmed by the body's immune response.
◎Your immune system responds to infection by producing chemicals called pyrogens that cause your body temperature to increase. Because most of your body's chemical reactions occur at a temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (or 37 degrees Celsius), a fever actually helps you fight infection by slowing down the rate of viral replication.
◎Chills are caused by rapid muscle contraction and relaxation. They are another of the body's ways of producing heat when it feels cold.
◎These types of immune responses continue until the virus is eventually eliminated from your body.
8. When you sneeze or cough, you can spread thousands of new viruses into the environment where they can go on to infect someone else!
PREVENTION IS KEY!
To reduce the risk of spreading or contracting germs:
◎Keep your vaccinations up-to-date.
◎Cover your mouth or nose when you cough or sneeze. Use a tissue or cough and sneeze into your flexed elbow, not your hand. Turn away from people.
◎Wash your hands frequently for 20 seconds, with soap and water, especially after going to the bathroom, coughing, sneezing, and preparing food. Use an alcohol based sanitizer (alcohol concentration >60%) when soap and water is not available. Note that sanitizer is not effective for certain microbes.
◎ Stay at home when you are sick.
◎Avoid touching your face.
◎Do not share cups and cutlery.
◎Clean and disinfect common surfaces frequently.
◎Social Distancing: A set of measures taken to prevent the spread of a contagious disease by maintaining a physical distance between people (two meters / six feet), reducing the number of times people come into close contact with each other, and avoiding group gatherings.
These practices are not foolproof, but they can help reduce the risk of viral infection!