15
votes
Is it known how often unvaccinated children are contagious with symptom free diseases?
Unvaccinated members of a population contribute to the susceptibility of the rest of the population to disease, especially vulnerable people who cannot be vaccinated. This fact is true whether or not ...
- 5,754
11
votes
Accepted
Why does the flu only happen in winter?
This is a really interesting question, because it really isn't as easy as people being a bit more susceptible in the winter. There's no definitive answer yet.
Influenza Seasonality: Underlying Causes ...
- 6,982
11
votes
Accepted
Transmission of COVID-19 through domesticated animals
Covid-19 is the result of a zoonotic outbreak from bats to an intermediate ( and unidentified host ) thence to humans. It is thought that bats don't suffer the disease themselves as they carry low ...
- 13.2k
9
votes
Accepted
Washing hands after going to the washroom to prevent epidemy
Hands play a major role especially in the transmission of blood-borne, fecal, and respiratory tract viruses.
Hand washing after use of bathroom aims at preventing the transmission of pathogens, ...
- 3,194
9
votes
What is the likelihood of contracting genital HSV1 through oral sex?
It seems to me that you are looking for solid risk numbers, which I am afraid might not be available. This is just a summary of the basic facts that play into this likelihood.
For example, what is ...
- 6,982
7
votes
Accepted
If a human is irradiated, how contagious are they?
This is an excellent question.
Let us give an example of a procedure that some humans really need to be exposed to - and that is Radiation Therapy.
Radiation therapy is usually given to cancer ...
- 253
7
votes
Accepted
Is the washing hands in order to protect yourself from COVID-19 backed up by research?
Here's an article that I found helpful, to understand why washing hands with soap is so helpful, and how it helps (Pall Thordarson is a professor of chemistry at the University of New South Wales, ...
- 470
7
votes
How Long Must a Window Remain Open to Decrease the Risk of COVID?
The premise of the question, that viral particles leaving through an open window is the dominant way risk decreases, is flawed.
As bob1 notes in the comments, decrease due to loss through the window ...
- 2,991
6
votes
Accepted
How do you get infected with HIV?
What should I take care of while sleeping with another woman to protect her against AIDS?
Get tested and go see you doctor. CDC.gov:
No HIV test can detect HIV immediately after infection. If you ...
- 2,965
6
votes
Accepted
Is dry urine sterile?
Urine is not sterile, not while in the bladder and certainly not when it comes out.
Contrary to dogma that urine is sterile in the absence of a clinical urinary tract infection (UTI); our research ...
- 6,982
6
votes
Chance of getting sexual transmitted diseases
Assuming that we are talking about the risk of having intercourse one time under the conditions you described, and assuming you do not know if your male partner had an STD, and provided your partner ...
6
votes
Having sex with someone who's had many sexual partners,
This is a very good and important question, not only for you but for other people as well.
As people have said in the comments, YES it can be potentially dangerous to have unprotected sexual ...
- 441
6
votes
Accepted
Will 70% isopropyl alcohol deactivate i.e. kill COVID-19?
Yes, it does.
According to the CDC, this is how surfaces should be disinfected:
Surfaces
Wear disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. Gloves should be discarded after ...
- 9,694
6
votes
Accepted
Why does R_t start so high for COVID in these models?
People don't just act in response to official orders. People react to the perception of danger, and by the time various official responses were announced, they were already taking measures to prevent ...
- 2,003
5
votes
Accepted
Eradicating HIV
It's quite easy to be infected with HIV and not know it. HIV is notoriously stealthy, often producing no symptoms for months or even years, and in the meantime the person can transmit the disease. ...
- 9,694
5
votes
What STDs can be transmitted if both parties have no open sores/cuts?
This answer covers herpes, with both HSV1 (usually appearing and transmitted orally) and HSV2 (usually called genital herpes).
So-called "asymptomatic shedding", when the virus can be transmitted ...
- 6,982
5
votes
Accepted
Can you get a yeast infection in your mouth from oral sex?
The yeast (fungus) that causes thrush or yeast infection in both men and women are of the genus Candida. These fungi can be found as normal flora on skin however outgrowth results in yeast infection. ...
- 321
5
votes
Can ingesting a mosquito make you sick?
Positively, no.
HIV is not spread by mosquitoes.
You cannot contract any disease from swallowing a mosquito.
Here, is a very large list of all the things that you could have caught :) If you ...
- 630
5
votes
Accepted
Can I contract chickenpox from my child who just got vaccinated?
Yes, you can contract it, but it is very unlikely.
The chickenpox vaccine is a live (attenuated) vaccine, meaning that it was weakened.
People who get chickenpox vaccines can spread the vaccine-...
- 6,982
5
votes
How can someone that is HIV positive not be contagious?
Your back-of-the-envelope calculations seem to be off in estimating the extent of viral load reduction in a treated versus untreated person as well as the risk of transmission for unprotected, ...
- 13.3k
5
votes
Is the washing hands in order to protect yourself from COVID-19 backed up by research?
Yes, the virus can be made un-harmful by soap and water. From the Economist:
The outer proteins sit athwart a membrane provided by the cell in
which the virion was created. This membrane, made of ...
- 171
5
votes
Why has the African region not seen many Covid-19 cases so far?
Health care in many sub-Saharan African countries is extremely sparse. As an example, Sierra Leone has less than 250 doctors for the entire country.
As a result, it is likely that cases in that and ...
- 532
5
votes
What information we have about transmission of COVID-19 in detail?
This question may a bit too broad (e.g. there are some separate questions about Covid-19 and food) but on the topic of transmission in an office-like setting there have been some studies/reports, some ...
- 5,928
4
votes
Hepatitis B transmission
The hepatitis B virus has been found in semen, salivia, and vaginal secretions (as well as in blood, of course). The risk of transmission is lower for oral sex than it is for vaginal or anal sex, but ...
- 6,982
4
votes
Accepted
Can pathogens be transmitted from smelling something?
First, it is unlikely that the fecal matter was in fact pathogen-laden, but as a general statement should be treated as such. Further pathogens that would be in fecal mater are mostly transmitted ...
- 1,846
4
votes
Accepted
Is E. coli contagious?
Yes, E. coli is definitely contagious through direct contact. In fact your girlfriend's pyelonephritis could have come from you after sexual intercourse.
The general mechanism for this would be that ...
- 1,846
4
votes
Accepted
Can I save road accident victims with my bare hands?
In short, the answer (regarding diseases) is yes.
Anytime you deal with blood or other bodily fluid, you risk catching a variety of diseases. The risk is compounded if you are not wearing proper ...
- 874
4
votes
Is rabies virus infectious outside host?
Can rabies virus remain infectious on environment i.e on soil, grasses, leaves and water?
Generally, an exposure requires a bite from an infected animal, or saliva or neural tissue to be introduced ...
- 3,188
4
votes
Accepted
Does the evidence show that handshakes during an office visit are safe?
There are arguments made that handshakes in healthcare settings are not safe; for example see Sklansky et al 2014.
Some of the issues increasing the risk include noncompliance with hand-washing ...
- 13.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Why getting off the transport where person has coughed is not going to help?
There are three possibilities when someone is coughing on the bus:
they don't have Coronavirus -- or even a virus at all. I coughed a lot when my lungs were full of tumours. Some people cough when ...
- 3,829
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