In a major scientific study published in the journal聽Cell, scientists have characterized the specific ways in which SARS-CoV-2 鈥� the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 鈥� infects the nasal cavity to a great degree 鈥� replicating specific cell types 鈥� and infects and replicates progressively less well in cells lower down the respiratory tract, including the lungs.
聽suggest the virus tends to become firmly established first in the nasal cavity, but in some cases the virus is aspirated into the lungs, where it may cause more serious disease, including potentially fatal pneumonia.
The lead authors of the study are pulmonary expert Richard Boucher, MD, James C. Moeser Eminent Professor of Medicine in the division of pulmonary diseases and critical care medicine and virology expert Ralph Baric, PhD, the William R. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology at the 黑料网 Gillings School of Public Health.
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