No symptom with high virus, camouflage of immunology for harmony- Are we barking up wrong tree

Evolution and nature doesn’t give space for any new species to evolve just to destroy or eliminate the other.  The theory of live and let others live is seen even among prey-predator relationship.  The prey species are advantaged with greater food availability, fecundity power and niche based, modified distribution etc., so that the population of ratio of the predator in the given ecosystem is always balanced. 

The arrival of novel coronavirus has caused more scare than actually cause disease or death.  Incidentally the novel coronavirus has thoroughly exposed the shallow wisdom of the so called science and profit centric approach of medicine in manufacturing and selling fear over awareness about novel coronavirus and COVID 19.

The interesting facet of the viral contraction was that vast majority of people despite with high load of virus remained asymptomatic or recovered from the virus with mild and manageable symptoms. 

Initially it was presumed that the viral load may not be high enough in asymptomatic people and hence they remain asymptomatic.  Further the robustness of the immune defence was also hypothesised as the reason for asymptomatic situation.   But the recent study has shown that despite very high viral load of novel coronavirus that is sufficient enough to cause infection based the viral load assessment in full blown COVID 19 patients, still majority of people remained asymptomatic.  No one could explain why such paradox had occurred in vast majority of people. 

But recently it has again been postulated that ‘disease’ tolerance might be happening in vast majority of people.  Perhaps the immune mechanism may not be reacting against the virus due to the possible cost of such immune exercise and associated consequences or the immune mechanism might be sensing the virus to be new and hence wants to wait and watch, before react.  

Why we over credit human ‘immune defence mechanism for the above ‘goldilock situation’ and why the scientific community is not accounting the intelligent design of the virus-man harmony.  The term host-parasite needs to be elaborated and accordingly we must also fine tune our scientific deliberations about host-parasite equilibrium.  Every species of life on earth are a parasite in the larger space called earth and the earth being the host.  Every parasite also does act as host for many other species of life form and in such relationship both beneficial and detrimental outcomes are possible.  Commensal flora is the best example for how two dissimilar species association is beneficial to both the host and the commensal flora and the pathogen is the best example for the harmful end of such relationship.

When a species of microbe that had already evolved and living elsewhere and if it invades man accidently, the choice before such organism is quite high, either it can go back to its original habitat or host or can learn to adapt to live in the new host or due to panic, can do harm to the new host and then escape. 

The new microbe like the novel coronavirus when evolve and accidently invades human being, the possibility of the virus undergoing the ‘paradox in paradox’ situation is quite high because it had just evolved and hence it may not have a host to harbour due to possible incomplete natural selection.  Besides that the new virus may not have many options except explore, learn, adapt and live in the host it had invaded.  Such situation would naturally create panic both in the virus as well as the host.  When both the virus and the host reach to each other in panic without any recognition of the virus or the cost and benefit of the reaction of the host (example – cytokine storm), the result would be ‘death’ and credit is given to the virus.

In co-morbid people, perhaps the immune defence mechanism may be over reacting to outreach the virus so that the virus can be eliminated.  But unfortunately the host system is already impaired due to various pre-existing medical condition, the assault of the immune defence mechanism on the virus does assaults the host as well, which ultimately kill the host.  Once again the virus grabs the credit. 

When we keep celebrating and crowing the already crowed virus by imposing lockdown, imposition of social distancing norms, mandating the wearing of mask and keep updating about the statistics of corona positive cases, naturally the science slips away and utter selfishness born out of fear, hopelessness and how to exploit the opportunity alone shall prevail. 

Tachyphylaxis is an obvious scientific fact; when someone is administered with a same drug for prolonged period of time, the cellular response towards the drug would diminish over time and the body may not even respond to such drugs in future.  Similarly our body, especially the immune system not responding or reacting to a virus (new pathogen) is called ‘disease tolerance’.  But the point of difference is that the virus is totally new but in the case of tachyphylaxis, the system might have been fatigued with the drug due to its prolonged exposure. 

When the smart immune system analyse the risk versus reward of the host who is likely to endure in fighting the novel coronavirus, accordingly propels no to least response, naturally asymptomatic condition or goldilocks situation shall occur. 

We must ask why the immune defence mechanism decides not to react towards totally a stranger virus.  Won’t we expect our immune defence mechanism to recognize and react violently against something which is totally new and strange?  If the immune reaction doesn’t occur under such circumstances, should we call such immune defence mechanism robust or weak? 

It may be also due to the confidence of the immune defence over the novel coronavirus which the immunity may be sensing as ‘non pathogen’ or ‘harmless’ and hence may be trying to accommodate the virus as normal flora.  Let the pre-existing normal flora at various anatomical regions fight the virus if they ever recognize the virus to be a competitor of their space and resource may be the stand taken by the immune defence mechanism in some people. 

The disease tolerance seen among vast majority of people with novel coronavirus load that is sufficient enough to cause infection, warrants us also think the role of evolution in establishing harmony between man and novel coronavirus.  When the immune defence mechanism decides not to react towards the virus, the virus also seems to cause fewer problems to the host and hence host-parasite accommodation leading to harmony may be taking place. 

Whereas in some people the immune reaction is so violent and disproportionately aggressive which results in the death of the host but we credit the virus.  The aggrieved and unnecessarily over reactive immune defence of the host may be the cause for casualty and not the coronavirus. 

Because of the newness of the virus, science would have easily made the novel coronavirus, scapegoat of human death.  Who knows, the pre-existing pathogens and or commensal flora in the host may lead the combat against the virus and that may be inciting the immune reaction in the host which ultimately killed the host in order to seal the fate of the invader.      

If we use unitary concept and harnessed scientific wisdom than linking every observation with evolution and answering every question not from the evolutionary angle, we are simply barking up the wrong tree.  

Time has come, we must accommodate novel coronavirus and must give its space and due share otherwise we may kill our economy, employment opportunity, education and the very social and societal fabric of human values and civilization in the name of lockdown, quarantine and other nonsensical prescriptions.  Disease tolerance should be seen as virus-man accommodation towards a possible harmony which is a positive sign and hence man must forget the virus and move forward in life. Testing, quarantine and lockdown etc., also must be removed totally.