Not-So-Common Colds

These past couple of weeks, our country (and most of the other parts of the world) has been experiencing cold weather which is pretty late at this time of the year since we, Filipinos, usually experience cool temperatures from November to December. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has recorded the lowest temperature in Metro Manila for this season last January 17, 2014 to be 19.5 Celsius which is brought about by the Northeast Monsoon or Hanging Amihan (read more). It is during these types of weather that people are more prone to diseases and viral infections such as cough, colds, fever, and pneumonia. Regular intakes of the good old Vitamin C may be one's best form of defense against these diseases, especially common colds.

However, did you know that common colds are caused by 3 major rhinoviruses? And they are not cured or treated in the same way. Two of these viruses, rhinovirus A and B have already been studied and already have 3-D models in place which helped scientists develop antivirals specific for both. The third major rhinovirus though has been less focused on but it has been the major culprit in cases of common colds, and its 3-D model has just been developed by a biochemist in University of Wisconsin - Madison and her colleagues (read article here).

The development of this 3-D structure would be helpful in understanding the mechanism of action of these rhinoviruses. This also explains why the treatments that work in the former 2 rhinoviruses do not necessarily work on rhinovirus C and having this model will allow scientists to have a better shot at coming up with the right cure.

Given our current temperature, which PAGASA predicts to last until the last week of February, it is easy to let our guards down and get sick. Prevention is always better than cure but discovering a cure for this strange type of rhinovirus seems promising doesn't it? Especially now that its 3-D model has been developed. It's better to be cautious, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this weather, because it's bound to get hotter in approximately 2 months.

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