There are a lot of routes, but damage to the lungs, heart, and/or kidneys seem to loom largest.
Sorry, in the *20* years since it was published.
One response to “How does the coronavirus kill its victims?”
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Hi Brian,
Just a quick stop by. It's not at all surprising to see end organ damage in critically ill patients. In fact, there is a whole taxonomy "multiple organ dysfunction syndrome" (MODS) that occurs across many different types of patients in critical care settings. So, while, I have seen some hypothesizing about ACE2 receptors being the key here, I wouldn't at all be surprised if all this damage we're seeing is a result of MODS secondary to disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) or some other mechanism.
The linked Scientific American article provides restraint in this respect of its analysis, but the statement that this virus is behaving like none we've ever seen is a bit dubious. You will see multiple end organ damage in very many terminal cases of infectious disease.
A little about MODS: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK6868/
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