Rhinovirus, that is.
Riddle me this. Just how long do viable, infective cold germs last on surfaces? Inquiring minds want to know.
I haven’t been near another human for almost 10 days, but I’m in the process of coming down with a doozy of a cold. Sneezing, a nose in desperate need of a spigot, actually, the whole gamut of Rhinovirus symptoms. My last proximate interaction with another human being was Christmas day. It’s just me, Ignatz McGraw -- Schipperke Extraordinaire, and Ms. Jingle Belle, Resident Mouser-in-Training. So I ask you, how in hell do I come down with a cold 9 days after any human contact? Yes, I know that folklore posits cold exposure and variable temperatures as a possible cause, but really, unless you are superstitious, do you think that rhinoviri are floating around in the outdoor air? Not bloody likely. So, I return to the original question. I suspect exposure from an infected mail person. That is the only contact I have had with the outside world – I picked up the mail on Saturday and symptoms have hit today – well within the likely time frame for infection.
Fracking USPS…
Image credit: Youtube and Bock Labs’s Institute of Molecular Virology, University of Wisconsin. Limited rights granted for display of individual images in educational settings and seminars prevents the use on this blog. However, the images are fascinating and well worth the visit to Virus World to view.
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