Virus infections are ‘more successful’in the morning, new study suggests
A University of Cambridge study suggests that viruses are more dangerous when they infect their victims in the morning.
The study findings showed that the viruses were 10 times more successful if the infection started in the morning. The animal studies also found that a disrupted body clock was locked in a state of vulnerability.
The researchers are hopeful that their findings could lead to new ways of stopping pandemics.
Unlike bacteria or parasites, viruses are completely dependent on hijacking the machinery inside cells in order to replicate.But those cells change dramatically as part of a 24-hour pattern known as the body clock.
The researchers infected mice with either influenza, which causes flu, or herpes virus, which can cause a range of diseases including cold sores.
They found that the mice infected in the morning had 10 times the viral levels of those infected in the evening.The late viruses failed, much like trying to hijack a factory after all the workers had gone home.
Professor Akhilesh Reddy, one of the researchers, said in an interview that they really saw a big difference, noting that a tiny infection in the morning might perpetuate faster and take over the body.
He also said that the findings could potentially help control disease outbreaks, saying that staying in during the daytime during pandemics could potentially save lives.
Further tests showed that disrupting the animal’s body clock meant they were “locked in” to a state that allowed the viruses to thrive, indicating that shift workers (or those who work some nights and rest some nights and so have a disrupted body clock), are more susceptible to viruses.
Only two viruses were used in the study but they were very distinct, as one was a DNA virus the other an RNA virus. This leads the research team to suspect the morning risk may be a broad principle that applies across a wide number of viruses.
About 10% of genes, the instructions for running the human body, change activity throughout the day, and this is controlled by the internal clock.The research focused on one clock gene called Bmal1, which has its peak activity in the afternoon in both mice and people.
Prof. Reddy also emphasized the importance of Bmal1, saying that when it’s low which is during early mornings, people are more susceptible to infections.
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