How Coronavirus
Hijacks a Body COVID-19 is the specific type of
coronavirus that has been declared a
pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID-19 is covered with
spikes and an oily lipid that dissolves
on contact with soap. COVID-19 enters the body through
the mouth, nose or eyes, attaching
itself to the protein ACE2 in airway cells. The virus fuses with the airway cells,
releasing the genetic material RNA. COVID-19 RNA hijacks infected cells
by making proteins that convince the
immune system all is well, while new copies of the virus
are created within the cell. By the time the new strains
of COVID-19 are ready to exit the cell,
millions of copies have been made.
The infected host cell then dies. COVID-19 infections cause
fever as the immune system
catches up, attempting to
fight off the virus. In some instances,
the immune system can go into overdrive,
attacking healthy cells in the lung. A small
percentage of these infections can lead to death.