Thread:

If you were designing the perfect virus what characteristics would it have?

1. Spread frequently by people who look healthy

2. Long latent period for pre-asymptomatic spread

3. It’s Airborne including potential aerosolized spread, & viable in air for hours

1/n

4. Causes cytokine storm that attacks human tissue and is unpredictable with respect to identifying who is vulnerable to this

5. Infects people of all ages, including higher rates in the young (albeit with a poorer prognosis in the elderly/ high risk)

2 / n

6. Elicits widely variable antibody response including low titer levels in some

7. Immune response may not be sufficient to confer immunity, if it does, it is for a limited time like a year

8. Infects brain including brain stem causing sudden cessation of breathing & death

3/n

9. Infects heart leading to myocarditis and heart failure in some creating the “walking wounded” and arrhythmias, heart block and sudden death

10. Like other #coronaviruses is seasonal

5/n

11. Could be worse if it rapidly mutates

12. Could be worse if causes immune enhancement with worse outcomes with reinfection

13. Could be worse if reactivates later like zoster

What are your Additional characteristics for the perfect virus?