Why is the spread of infections slower in real life?
444813
A quotation by Harvey J Gold, Author of Mathematical Modelling of Biological Systems,  may go towards assisting your analysis of the situation:\n\n" The result of a mathematical development should be continuously checked against one's own intuition about what constitutes reasonable biological behaviour. Whenever such a check reveals disagreement, the following possibilities must be considered:\n\na : A mistake has been made in the formal mathematical development\n\nb: The starting assumptions are incorrect and/or constitute a too drastic oversimplification\n\nc: One's own intuition about the biological field is inadequately developed.\n\nd: A penetrating new principle has been discovered. "\n\nDo let me know whether you found meaning in the above, and if you did analyse your model based on the checks recommended by him, what among a,b,c,d was the reason of the discrepancy. Of course this is assuming that you have already established the discrepancy beyond doubt.
336338
The cold weather itself doesn't bring on the flu, it has more to do with the fact that there is less outside air circulating in the winter (because of closed windows/doors, etc.) and then people have a better chance of coming into contact with the virus.
65098
Pneumonia is a bacterial infection of the lungs, and there are many strains and bacterias responsible for the infection.\n\nSome bugs are more infectious than others, and some are able to hop from one body to the other through the air.  Those are the worst so far as being contagious.
395811
This is caused by a virus that is very common among children younger than 5.  The degrees of infection vary but can include fever, blisters in the mouth, on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.  It takes 5 to 7 days to run its course.
786832
The short answer is "NO" and the reason is because in a social setting such as a family household or within a workplace statistics are not gathered.\nIt is only in settings such as hospitals or nursing homes or in the case of an epidemic that such facts are correlated and stats can be produced.\nHowever, in the years April to April 2005 - 2006 it was stated that there were 200 cases of unsourced infectious diarrhoea within nursing homes for the elderly in England and Wales (Scotland produces it's own stats) and 150 cases within NHS hospitals.\nIn total over 5000 people were affected including both staff and patients/residents.\nHope this helps.
398209
They havnt been alive long enough yet and have not had as much time as adults to grow immunities to these kind of infections so the older they get the less they will get them...\n\nAlso, I'm not sure on this part, but i would think that the more they get them, they will grow a greater immunity to the infection because their body will get used to it
1040546
the virus likes to mutate. so even if they did have one.. it wouldn't work for very long
16240
From Wikipedia:\n\nOne possible explanation for "flu season" is that, because people are indoors more often during the winter, they are in close contact more often, and this promotes transmission from person to person. Another is that cold temperatures lead to drier air, which may dehydrate mucous, preventing the body from effectively expelling virus particles. The virus may also linger longer on exposed surfaces (doorknobs, countertops, etc.) in colder temperatures. Increased travel and visitation due to the Christmas season may also play a role.
383315
Aids infects those don't follow God's moral laws.\nFaithful Christians that don't cheat on their spouses have a very low rate of infection from hiv.
1101293
How many people could survive just "living off the land?" Not many I would guess. Health is compromised by chemicals that we consume in our food/water and in the air we breathe. Misuse of prescription drugs (i.e. antibiotics) makes us vulnerable to disease because of lowered immunity. The stress of living in a fast-paced, hectic society affects many areas of mental and physical health. We need to slow down.
400268
How likely isn't really available as an answer. It implies that we have information about instances in which someone was infective and the other person did or did not become infected. That information's not really available. \n\nHowever, on statistical grounds (ie, doesn't really apply to this or that individual), it's possible to say that infection is more likely during an outbreak. Certainly virus is detectable more often during outbreaks than not. \n\nHowever, at least one recent study has shown that viruses are being shed before an outbreak becomes evident. So it seems that herpes can be passed on even then. On the other hand, there are people who have lived with, had sex with, and therefore been exposed to herpes, who have not in fact been infected. Just what's different cout them, incomparison to the vast range of infected folks, is unknown. Their mucosal immunity is more effective, perhaps? If so, how? \n\nSince you can't know if you're one of the lucky types who won't get infected, you should treat any source of infection with care. Always use barrier contraception insuch cases. And properly, too.
697520
It depends on the person, and the strength their immune system, but also the strength of the virus. I would assume 10 days is a little bit longer than the average, just so that people do not spread the virus.
152678
Maybe, your immune system is weak. Immuno suppression may result in recurrent infections. See your doctor for further evaluation.
908066
Blood, germs, viruses. Think it twice. It takes a hell of a long time.
482789
It has been proven over and over again that regular handwashing can result in a healthier lifestyle.\n\nHandwashing Keeps Us Healthy \nHERE'S WHY!\n\nBacteria and viruses that make people sick can be passed on our hands. Handwashing is the most important way to reduce the spread of infection. You can't avoid collecting germs, but you can reduce the chance of infecting others by knowing when to wash.
316798
It does appear to be true that viruses (and other pathogens) can evolve in their virulence - the severity of their symptoms. On one extreme, it is obviously not an ideal thing for a virus to kill its host before it is transmitted to another host. Consequently only viruses that "hold off" until they can get transmitted will survive. Viruses may show limited virulence anyway, because they have trouble with the immune system, or just don't cause very severe symptoms. However there is evidence that reducing the transmission rate of a virus in a population - however that might be done - causes the evolution of lower virulence. Some of that evidence is for HIV, which appears to show lower virulence here in the US (because transmission rates are lower due to public health efforts) than strains in Africa, where transmission rates have been high. This knowledge provides interesting possibilities for public health and medicine. The link below provides someone' lecture notes on the topic. The references at the bottom may be useful.
1121190
The population is increasing faster than the rate of infection is decreasing, causing a net increase in the absolute number of patients.