Researchers decode cold virus: Effective treatment soon?

William Atkins
Saturday, 14 February 2009 03:12

Science - Health

Dr. Palmenberg stated, "We know a lot about the common cold virus but we didn't know how their genomes encoded all that information. Now we do, and all kinds of new things are falling out." [Fox News: “Common cold DNA deciphered, congestion continues"]

Besides the 99 known strains of human rhinovirus (HRV), there are probably hundreds of more strains out there that the medical community hasn’t yet discovered.

Before this research was conducted, these known strains were divided into two species: human rhinovirus A (HRV-A) and human rhinovirus B (HRV-B).

Their research indicates that two more species are possible (yes you guessed it): human rhinovirus C (HRV-C) and human rhinovirus D (HRV-D).

Their research found that an individual with a cold may actually have one or more strains of the rhinovirus inside their body.

And, even more scary is the news that these strains can change themselves (by switching genes) to produce a brand-new strain (kinda like papa and momma virus making baby virus).

So far, anti-viral drugs or vaccines have not been found to prevent the infection from the cold virus. With so many strains, scientists have not pinpointed the medicine to cure it.

Dr. Ligget states, "There has been no success in developing effective drugs to cure the common cold, which we believe is due to incomplete information about the genetic composition of all these strains.” [Fox News]

So, with complete information about the genetic composition of these strains now identified, scientists should be able to proceed at finding more effective ways to fight the common cold and, maybe some day, to find the cure for it.

Until that happens, do you happen to have a tissue, a warm blanket, and some lozenges for me?

The "Common Cold" even has its own website. Check out CommonCold.org.

The Mayo Clinic also has a lot of good medical advice and information on the Common Cold.