Worse virus

Eisen warns that such delayed-illness scenarios can't be ruled out, either. There are ways new variants could inflict worse damage without compromising their ability to spread. For example, a new variant might attack the brain, heart or other organs in more subtle, slower ways that leave victims walking around but that eventually take a large toll. Malani notes that there's anecdotal evidence that more young people are getting severely ill with Delta than has been the case with previous variants.

That uptick may just be due to higher numbers of young people getting infected, or it may indicate a troubling shift toward greater vulnerability among the younger. That wouldn't be a first: The flu pandemic preferentially killed younger adults. It's not yet clear whether or not Delta is hitting the younger harder. While increased infectiousness is the most likely path for a fierce post-Delta variant versus getting past vaccines or causing more severe illness, there's a catch: Such traits aren't mutually exclusive.

Simply as a matter of chance, a mutation that confers increased transmissibility might also cause more damage to health or give the virus a better chance at slipping past the defenses conferred by a vaccine. Although these latter traits aren't likely to be selected on their own, they could ride the coattails of a transmissibility-boosting mutation. Fortunately, there's a built-in impediment to what might otherwise be a potentially endless march toward ever-more-dangerous variants: The virus will at some point run out of ways to become nastier, thanks to the relatively simple structure of the spike protein, which can only be mutated in a few hundred different ways, most of which won't make the virus more harmful.

Another big break: Unlike the flu virus, SARS-CoV-2 doesn't have a structure that lends itself to mixing and matching genetic material between different variants. That "recombination" capability is what helps make the flu a moving target each year for vaccines. But a big pickup in vaccination rates would at least put the age of the most dangerous variants behind us.

At that point, says Green, we can focus on occasional new vaccines or booster shots that make the virus a relatively tame threat. On the other hand, notes Green, the flu kills as many as 60, people a year.

If COVID keeps mutating away from vaccine effectiveness and natural immunity, and a large portion of the population continues to neglect vaccinations, then we'll indeed end up permanently haunted by the virus. Thanks to the ongoing threats of variants, we might be in for a lot worse. Delta variant CDC. Read more. In the Magazine. Misinformation site Gateway Pundit is dominating Arizona's election audit. Troops Leave. The virus is extremely deadly, and is known to infect birds and all warm-blooded animals, including humans.

Common hosts for the virus include infected bats, monkeys, foxes, skunks, wolves, coyotes, dogs, and cats. The virus is primarily found in the nerves and saliva of infected animals, and is usually transmitted via bites. Because the virus remains asymptomatic for approximately one to three months sometimes as much as a year , diagnosis is difficult. This is problematic because once symptoms begin, treatment is ineffective with a mortality rate of 99 percent.

Nearly 17, people die from Rabies worldwide each year, with the majority of these cases involving bites from rabid dogs. Once symptoms of Rabies begin approximately one to three months after infection , common symptoms include fever and headache in its initial stages. Once the virus progresses to the brain, however, inflammation of the spine and brain, along with paralysis, severe anxiety, sleeplessness, confusion, agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, and terror are common.

Death usually occurs within two to ten days after symptoms appear, with the final stages of the virus being delirium, hydrophobia fear of water and coma.

Until , nearly all cases of rabies were fatal to humans. Following the vaccination developed by Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux, however, fatality rates have declined significantly assuming proper medical care is sought out immediately. For individuals exposed to rabies, rapid treatment is needed within ten days , and includes a fourteen-day series of vaccinations known as HRIG Human Rabies Immunoglobulin.

These vaccinations are highly effective, with a percent cure rate when administered promptly. Pictured above is HIV green attacking healthy cells in the human body. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV is a species of virus from the Retroviridae family that affects the immune system of infected individuals.

HIV is believed to have originated from chimpanzees living within Central Africa, and may have been present on the continent as far back as the s. The virus has existed in the United States since the s. There is currently no cure for the virus; however, effective treatments have been established to control the disease known as ART antiretroviral therapy. Each year, there are approximately 1. The virus, which eventually progresses to AIDS if left untreated , is responsible for an estimated , deaths per year, with the largest number of deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa 66 percent of all cases.

HIV is a life-threatening virus, and is spread via bodily fluids. At the final stage AIDS , the immune system is compromised to a point where even a common cold can become a life-threatening ordeal.

Diagnosing HIV is difficult as the disease often shows no signs or symptoms in its early stages. Occasionally, people experience flu-like symptoms during the first two to four weeks of infection, including fever, chills, rash, muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, mouth ulcers, and swollen lymph nodes. Routine blood-tests should be conducted if an individual believes they were exposed. Smallpox is an ancient virus caused by the variola virus believed to have originated in Egypt during the Third-Century BC.

The last known case of smallpox occurred in October , with the World Health Organization WHO claiming a complete eradication of the disease in globally. Over the centuries, Smallpox has often occurred in outbreaks, with a fatality rate of approximately 30 percent. During the 18th-Century alone, Europe experience nearly , deaths per year from the disease. Before the eradication of the Smallpox virus, scientists believe that the disease spread following face-to-face contact with other humans via coughing or sneezing.

After about the fourth day, a rash containing small red spots began to appear on both the mouth and tongue of individuals infected with the virus. After 24 hours, these sores would then fill up with a thick fluid making the bumps round and solid to the touch. After about ten days, the sores begin to scab over, falling off within a week often leaving lifelong scars on the skin. Although Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide, the potential for an outbreak remains.

Bioterrorist attacks, where viruses and bacteria are intentionally released by terrorist groups or countries, remains an ever-present though unlikely threat during the modern age. For this reason, vaccinations and antiviral drugs have been safely stockpiled in the event of a bioterrorist attack in the future. Hantaviruses are an incredibly dangerous disease from the Hantaviridae family. The viruses, which are found predominantly in Europe and Asia, are believed to be spread through various rodents via saliva, feces, and urine.

Due to the small number of cases that have occurred, however, little is known about its overall impact on humans. Incubation time for the Hantavirus is believed to be approximately one to eight weeks, with symptoms occurring at any time during this span. Early symptoms include fatigue, muscle pain, fever, headaches, abdominal problems including nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting , as well as dizziness, and chills.

In cases where the virus results in HPS, extreme coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, and chest tightness begin to occur after ten days as the lungs begin to fill with fluid. For instance, the most frequent method of getting infections right now is to click on attachments, open files, or follow link s in unwanted emails. How is that possible? Because many a virus will impersonate somebody else to persuade you to open that link or launch that file.

But, since not every virus works the same way, you cannot generalize how your computer should act upon getting a virus. Nonetheless, you can certainly avoid a few careless habits that often lead to virus infections on your computer, phone, or any other device. Do you have an email from AppleSupport gmail. Likewise, be paranoid about attachments. Your late distant granny would have preferred contacting you directly instead of asking somebody else to hand over her remaining property to you. Not every email you receive is legit.

Today, digital advertising is the bane of computer security. This is because a lot of malware spreads through ads on malicious websites. You can prevent this risk by avoiding fishy sites. But, of course, not all the ads in the world are dangerous. Or you could adopt a more active measure. For example, some VPN services can block ads. Likewise, you can use the more dedicated tools — the adblockers — for this purpose.

While free WiFi hotspots are an attractive marketing strategy from hotels and other public places, they are seldom secure. Often, these public WiFi harbor cybercriminals who keep looking for victims to infect their devices and steal data. Unless you have a robust antivirus and a VPN on your device, avoid connecting to such free WiFi to protect your online privacy and security. Just open your antivirus and see what it tells you.

For example, Windows 10 has a Windows Security feature, which includes an impressive protection tool against viruses, the Windows Defender. You can even turn on its notifications to watch when and how it scans your system. The study of computer malware is not an established science at all.

In fact, much of it relies on artistic intuition, ironically. So how did we choose our top twelve entries for the most malicious computer viruses? We considered estimates of lost work, infection length, the estimated number of infections.

Also, cleaning up a virus takes resources, and we considered that too. The truth is that nobody has any accurate data. Still, we considered several reports and shared with you something that was somehow common among the various sources. The world spends at least 55 billion USD cleaning up and repairing the damage that results from the spread of viruses and worms.

Mydoom has the record for damage, at 38 billion, but there have been many other strong hits. However, the future looks bright regarding malware and virus prevention measures. Just keep your system updated at all times, get a good antivirus suite, and apply cybersecurity best practices to stay safe online.

Above all, remain aware. Keep visiting our site to educate yourself on privacy, anonymity, and security issues so you can always keep yourself a step ahead of the rest. Stay safe. Stay private. Ali Qamar is the founder of PrivacySavvy, which he started out of the sheer passion for making every internet user privacy savvy. Ali has always been concerned about security and privacy for the general public and is very libertarian. Even before Edward Snowden appeared, he has been a privacy advocate even before Edward Snowden appeared with his revelations about NSA's mass surveillance.

Ali graduated with a computing degree from the leading IT college in Pakistan, so he boasts a background in this area. He has an accountable understanding of the technical sides of encryption, VPNs, and privacy. Ali is regularly quoted in the privacy and security reports by the local press. Ali is naturally attracted to transforming things. Exclusive offer. And so time is of the essence.

You can't get vaccinated today and expect that you're gonna have protection tonight," he said. Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated or boosted ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask , don't travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you're not sheltering with especially in bars , practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.

Alek Korab 1 day ago. QR code scams on the rise. Think twice before you scan. Ad Microsoft. Full screen. Virus Expert Just Issued This "Get Worse" Warning Although there is some cold comfort in the fact that the Omicron variant of COVID is proving "less severe" than Delta, enough people are getting sick that basic needs—like health care or transportation—are becoming disrupted, not to mention hospitals are filling up fast due to the sheer contagiousness of Omicron.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. Virus Expert Warned "It's Only Going to Get Worse" "It is intense now, and it's only going to get worse, and I think that if everyone could just take a step back; you know, de-politicize it," said Dr. Slideshow continues on the next slide. How to Stay Safe Out There Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated or boosted ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask , don't travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you're not sheltering with especially in bars , practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.