8

If someone gets infected by a droplet containing a high load of the SARS-CoV-2 virus would he be more likely to develop more severe symptoms compared to someone who gets infected by a droplet containing a very low viral load?

Intuitively, it seems so, but is there any scientific data to back it up? How significant is the effect if it exists?

1 Answer 1

1

From

Masks Do More Than Protect Others During COVID-19: Reducing the Inoculum of SARS-CoV-2 to Protect the Wearer

Authors: Monica Gandhi MD, MPH, Chris Beyrer MD, MPH & Eric Goosby MD
Published: Journal of General Internal Medicine (2020)

(emphasis mine):

A report from a pediatric hemodialysis unit in Indiana, where all patients and staff were masked, demonstrated that staff rapidly developed antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 after exposure to a single symptomatic patient with COVID-19. In the setting of masking, however, none of the new infections was symptomatic. And in a recent outbreak in a seafood processing plant in Oregon where all workers were issued masks each day at work, the rate of asymptomatic infection among the 124 infected was 95%. An[other] outbreak in a Tyson chicken plant in Arkansas with masking also showed a 95% asymptomatic rate of infection.

One model showed a correlation between population-level masking and number of COVID-19 cases in various countries, but an even stronger correlation with suppression of COVID-related death rates.However, it should be acknowledged that this model could not account for all confounders that led to such low death rates in the regions examined. This group showed that, if 80% of the population wears a moderately effective mask, nearly half of the projected deaths over the next two months could be prevented. Countries accustomed to masking since the 2003 SARS-CoV pandemic, including Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, and Singapore, and those who newly embraced masking early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Czech Republic, have fared well in terms of rates of severe illness and death. Indeed, even when cases have resurged in these areas with population-based masking upon re-opening (e.g., South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan), the case-fatality rate has remained low,47 which is suggestive of this viral inoculum theory.

One of the doctors that authored the research above also published this article where she wrote (emphasis mine):

When you breathe in a respiratory virus, it immediately begins hijacking any cells it lands near to turn them into virus production machines. The immune system tries to stop this process to halt the spread of the virus.

The amount of virus that you’re exposed to – called the viral inoculum, or dose – has a lot to do with how sick you get. If the exposure dose is very high, the immune response can become overwhelmed. Between the virus taking over huge numbers of cells and the immune system’s drastic efforts to contain the infection, a lot of damage is done to the body and a person can become very sick.

On the other hand, if the initial dose of the virus is small, the immune system is able to contain the virus with less drastic measures. If this happens, the person experiences fewer symptoms, if any.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.