PA and Coronavirus

[Sleepybunny]

PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society) recent news item

pernicious-anaemia-society....

[Gambit62 Administrator]

Thank you Sleepybunny.

The important thing is to put things in perspective. At present those who have compromised respiratory function seem to be most at risk.

The virus and how it is transmitted and works is still being worked out. Scientists have identified two strains so far - one is more aggressive than the other and it is the less aggressive strain that seems to be the one that is spreading. 80% of people will experience only very mild symptoms and some may not even notice that they had the infection - which is what makes it so easy for it to spread.

The government is currently advising anyone who has been to high risk countries to self isolate themselves for 14 days which covers the period in which symptoms would appear and the virus could be passed on.

The constant coverage in the media isn't necessarily helpful as it focuses people on the risk and can lead to that risk appearing much greater than it is. At present the risk of Covid-19 ( the particular variant of coronavirus that is spreading) is a great deal less than the risk from other things we do on a daily basis such as driving a car or crossing the road.

[fbirder in reply to Gambit62]

It appears the risk is much, much greater than we are being told.

The government reckons there may be 10,000 cases in the UK.

A doctor reckons we are nowhere near the worst of it. independent.co.uk/voices/co...

Boris Johnson says we are a couple of weeks behind Italy

Italy has just passed 1000 deaths. Italy has more ITU beds that the UK. Italy does not have a shortage of 50,000 nurses. Italy has closed the whole country.

[fbirder]

That seems to assume that people with PA have a compromised immune system. But PA is caused by an overactive immune system.

I can think of no reason why those with PA should be any more at risk that anybody else.

[ClareG77 in reply to fbirder]

This is what confused me? I also have autoimmune thyroid disease and they are saying no greater risk, I thought it was an immune response but maybe thats the problem if the virus gets into our lungs and we then overreact to it? I wish someone knew this?

[fbirder in reply to ClareG77]

Your immune system will almost certainly not react to the covid-19 virus. That is one of the really bad things about it - nobody has encountered it before so nobody will have antibodies to it.

[ClareG77 in reply to fbirder]

Yes I know that, but are we with auto immune pa and thyroid disease more susceptible to the severe cases of it?

[fbirder in reply to ClareG77]

No.

[fbirder in reply to fbirder]

According to this paper - karger.com/Article/Abstract... - people with a B12 deficiency may have a weakened immune system, but it recovers with treatment.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to ClareG77]

The mechanisms by which the virus operates aren't, as far as I am aware, fully understood yet but it does seem that deaths are associated with people who already had compromised respiratory function.

Auto-immunity occurs when something goes wrong with immune responses and rather than keeping out infections it starts attacking something that you actually need, and this is what I would understand by saying that people with auto-immune disorders have a compromised immune system. This doesn't mean that all auto-immune disorders will result in a particular susceptibility to a given virus. The list of people deemed to be at particular risk with this virus currently includes those with/particular susceptibility to respiratory problems or whose immune system is already trying to fight off a respiratory problem.

People who are B12 deficient are more susceptible to infections but if you are properly treated I wouldn't expect PA of itself to be a problem (given current understanding) unless it is accompanied by another problem such as diabetes. As far as I am aware the same should be true of auto-immune disorders affecting the thyroid.

Suggest that you continue to monitor information provided by your national government and follow good hygiene such as hand-washing

[ClareG77 in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you so much for explaining it all. Thats sort of what I was thinking. As a PA and Hypothyroid patient (both managed) I found myself picking up colds and horrendous laryngitis a lot more before diagnosis.

[Mashie44 in reply to fbirder]

shortly after diagnosis with b12d I had neutropenia and low white cell count - i was told it was because of b12d. I had flu around the same time, and took 3 months to recover (could hardly get out of bed & felt like a victorian novel heroine, fading away). The idea of catching flu with that sort of blood problem frightens me now... that's where I'd see a connection but also see your point...

[fbirder in reply to Mashie44]

Yes, it is true that somebody with a B12 deficiency that is untreated may have a compromised immune system. But it soon recovers with treatment.