We don't talk enough about the risk of viruses transferring genes in co-infections and we need to because COVID is changing our viral ecosystem.
Recombinant variants are just the beginning of our problems.
This is not the mucosal article I promised next but a recent headline caught my eye.
Which inspired reactions like this from EXTREMELY knowledgeable folks…
First off, if you are still on Twitter give Jonathan a follow, but in this particular case…
I did predict this.
While this example is not COVID and this was in a lab… SARS2 can not only have this effect, but it could also boost other viruses’ chances of having these events.
Deep in the Long COVID article from last Feb. is a loose explanation of a process called Horizontal Gene transfer.
A lot of folks were confused why I even had this in my Long COVID article. Nearly everyone understood recombinant variants, but the idea that viruses with totally different RNA or DNA can still exchange genetic information was completely foreign.
And that’s nothing to feel bad about, it’s a relatively new science. It’s nowhere near popularized and at the same time, equally understood… As in, poorly.
What we do know is that this process is triggered by the same “co-infections” as recombinants. To be clear, that’s when you get infected with two viruses at the same time creating a new COVID variant.
But co-infections can also happen with other viruses.
Traditionally, this is not a giant threat, though it’s not great, but COVID adds many new variables to this because it changes the entire makeup of our viral ecosystem.
Not only because it damages our immune system which creates a myriad of issues but it can potentially boost viruses to allow hybrids that were impossible previously.
Or, at least, allow them to spread when normally our immune systems would stop it.
Persistent COVID could even possibly trigger this, here’s my last article covering it.
COVID mingling in co-infections with many other viruses is like climate change but for viruses. It will completely upset the very delicate viral balance we live in.
In a way, it’s the viruses' world, we just live in it.
So, here is the slightly edited excerpt from my Long COVID article.
This is when RNA or DNA from one species slides into the RNA or DNA of another species…AND ALTERS OR POSSIBLY EVEN CREATES A NEW SPECIES.
Just like in this lab test.
This is the ultimate “slide into someone’s DMs” except it’s their DNA instead.
That could mean COVID’s genes could jump phylum or it could pick up genes from other organisms… and I’m not joking.
We might not even know what it would look like when it happens but it has been a critical part of ‘evolution for many organisms’ throughout history.
And it was only in 2010 that it was discovered that MANY microbes perform this activity a HUNDRED MILLION MORE TIMES than previously thought.
So, our understanding of risk here is kind of… bad.
The simple fact is that “Horizontal gene transfer in microbes is much more frequent than previously thought” and the idea hasn’t been adopted broadly yet.
It might actually boost or be boosted by another virus or creature in ways that we do not yet understand… and we barely understand any of this, far from making applications.
This is happening 100 million times more often than we previously thought.
Life is not a Michael Crichton book, Science is barely figured out and even less is agreed upon, but this data had two very important pieces of information…
Microbes can do it overnight and antibiotics can trigger it in bacteria.
Guess what we are using on COVID in desperate situations?
If people are eating horse paste… Don’t do that btw… Then it’s very possible that ALL TYPES of antibiotics are being used against COVID.
Then, maybe, we get a new species… And it might have already happened.
And, yes, COVID is a virus, not a bacteria but this is so poorly understood and we know viruses do it too even if it is slightly different.
The truth is that viruses have always been changing our DNA and have been critical to our evolution but none, that we know of, have been as dangerous as COVID.
There are more deadly viruses, but none have as much potential to change our world.
And humans have encountered many viruses, so many a few even still lurk in our DNA.
But how many viruses specifically are in our bodies? About 380 Trillion of them.
When you include all of the microbes, more than half of your body is not even you.
And that brings us to a startling point… We have almost no idea the role the viruses or other microbiota that we normally coexist with are having with COVID…
We know that COVID is wiping out mitochondria and gut bacteria, so what impact is it having on the viruses also inside our bodies?
Is COVID wiping them out and causing a specific form of Long-Hauler Syndrome that is even harder to fight off? Might one aid us in our fight against COVID?
Is it possible that our damaged immune system might allow our own viruses, which have a better understanding of our body, to work together to create new superbugs?
We’ve already seen COVID “awaken” Epstein-Barr from our DNA and we know that Epstein-Barr is tied to fatigue-related symptoms we see in Long COVID.
We know almost nothing about more than half of the living parts of your body… Because they aren’t actually your body but they are part of the system that keeps it functioning and your Immune System is what keeps it all in balance.
That’s not just B cells, T cells, and other antibodies…
But really, bacteria, viruses, mitochondria, etc… Are all PART of our immune system.
Two things are important about that…
1) COVID can destroy, make dysfunctional, or disrupt all of those.
2) We know almost nothing about their interactions unless it kills us.
But how much of a risk does horizontal gene transfer really pose?
Well, there are more viruses than stars in the universe. So, the potential is there.
A 100 million times more, to offer a rough estimate.
The potential for extreme change is nearly limitless and some of it can happen dramatically, even overnight.
If this sounds far-fetched, that’s not unreasonable.
Most of this is relatively new and only has not been science fiction for about 12 years.
Shortly after writing this section… COVID started displaying itself as Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease in children living in the Toronto area. It’s localized, so far.
This could already be Horitonzal Gene Transfer occurring. Keep in mind, that the CDC wants kids to stay at home when they carry this disease.
Makes you wonder why COVID is allowed in schools.
This inconsistency could make things get even more out of control and quickly.
The longer we allow COVID free reign, and the more we normalize the idea of getting multiple infections at once… The more of these Horizontal Gene Transfers (HGT) events that will occur and there is no limit to the potential for havoc it can cause to our bodies and immune systems.
Well, until you die… That’s the limit.
But until then COVID has the potential to evolve wildly if left unchecked.
These events will likely lead to higher transmission rates and higher viral loads which increases the length of your infection and consequently your risk of Long COVID.
While the simple fact is that we are already seeing the outcome of these events.
It’s even been theorized that Omicron was birthed from HGT with the common cold because it picked up genes specific to it which increased its transmissibility but also brought new variables relating to the common cold specifically.
So, it’s likely this has been a problem the whole time and it can only get worse.
Then when you look at the current flu data, it’s pretty easy to assuming something is going on… or better said, going wrong.
This is likely happening because of a combination of two things…
Long COVID and damaged immune systems
Possible HGT between something, maybe COVID, and influenza
But as are faced with a triple pandemic, co-infecions are on the rise and that means things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.
Influenza, RSV, and COVID with tons of antibiotics being used on them is a recipe for disaster and based on the current antibiotic shortage, we’ve been using a lot of them.
All of this was another reason folks should isolate when they are infected and allowing the already infected to get infected with other viruses is only creating these events that are likely to make all of the viruses involved stronger.
More co-infections plus more antibiotic use is going to lead to stronger viruses.
Our hospitals have literally become giant petri dishes where they are likely to evolve super bugs and we are already seeing the outcome of that with the new color added.
Obviously, this is a very high-risk issue and once it gets out of hand it will be almost impossible to put the genie back in the bottle, and the only wish we’ll want to make will be to make it stop…
But that might not be possible when we finally realize it.
Though that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to stop it anyway.
I’ll be announcing a discord with my next article, and Substack just announced a new conversations feature that I will test out in the next few days.
Until then, stay frosty… The mucosal immunity article will be up soon.
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Thank you for this Don. I really miss your Twitter presence...although Twitter seems to be imploding at the moment. I’m glad I know I can at least find you here...you are tenacious with finding and delivering information and I’m much safer because of it. Thank you!
Penelope here, Don. I just want you to know that I raised a ruckus on your behalf on Twatter, and sent as many people over here as I could. Hope they’re coming. This piece is terrifying af. Thank you for writing it.