Your brain-eating virus is probably already inside you
Good morning from the Fundy shore — the tide's turning, and so is New Brunswick. Let's get into it.
I'll tell you what, you think you're safe here on the East Coast, right? We got our fog, our lobsters, the Reversing Falls doing its thing. But then you read something, and it just… well, it sticks with you. Turns out, that whole "brain-eating virus" thing? It’s not just in those B-movies they used to rent down at Video Difference in Rothesay. According to new research, you’re likely already carrying a brain-eating virus you’ve never even heard of. And the worst part? For years, doctors thought fatal infections only happened to folks with really weak immune systems. Not anymore.
### What’s the deal?
So, this thing is called the JC polyomavirus, or JCV. It’s super common, apparently carried by 70-90% of adults worldwide. Most of the time, it just chills out in your kidneys and bone marrow, never causing a peep. But in some cases, it can reactivate and go straight for your brain, causing a rare and often fatal condition called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML. It sounds like something out of a Stephen King novel set in the Maritimes, eh?
* JCV is carried by up to 90% of adults.
* It usually lies dormant in the body.
* It can cause a fatal brain infection called PML.
* New research shows it's not just a threat to the profoundly immunosuppressed.
Now, they used to think you really had to be struggling with a compromised immune system for this virus to get uppity. But this new research is showing that it can affect people without profound immune suppression. It's a bit unnerving, right? Makes you wonder what else is just hanging out in there, waiting for a bad day.
Honestly, it makes you want to go for a good long walk up in Rockwood Park, breathe some fresh air, and forget about the microscopic horrors lurking within. We’ve got enough to worry about with potholes and ferry schedules, right? A brain-eating virus is just adding insult to injury. Makes you appreciate a quiet evening uptown, knowing what might be brewing inside your skull.
Caleb Duguay-Firth, MiTL Sports Desk, Saint John.
The crew on the morning show always has the best takes on stuff like this — catch 'em live at mornings.live.