While we look outwards to clean surfaces, etc or try to take hydroxychloroquine or some antivarals used in other infections, a thing to keep in mind is that this new virus (Novel Coronavirus) is using mimicry with a very common virus, the flu virus.

It is invading our immune system through a common pathway to learn and gather intelligence about survival, pathogenicity, as well as how to balance its virulence with virulence for long term survival. Through mimicking the flu virus it is learning what is distasteful to the human body. The great geographic mosaic is like giving it a higher quality education useful in the future for diverse adaptations. 

Co-evolution is seen in many instances in nature: butterflies have co-evolved with plants - especially plants that produce showy flowers to attract them. Similarly, fruit eating birds have co-evolved with plants that produce small fleshy fruits to disperse their seeds.

This phenomenon, called convergence is a mutually supportive relationship. Through mimicry, two species come to resemble each other. Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 are using the human immune system to learn the pattern or signal responses and get an advantage. Such coevolutionary intelligence can be acquired faster in a denser population. Greater the genetic diversity more hardy is the acquired intelligence. 

We cannot know the intensity or the exact pathology of infection and it could be multifarious.

Coevolution is part of nature and here to stay. There will be cheaters as well. Our bodies are intelligent and great schools for learning more so for viruses than bacteria, which through their walls and membranes tend to isolate more. 

Keep your humility and trust your body's intelligence.

The Author, Vidya Raghunathan, is a Scientist with the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi.

Source Courtesy: Lulua Ahsan, UAE