Difference in COVID-19 pneumonia and Typical pneumonia 

👉Bacteria or viruses that cause pneumonia can spread across large regions of the lungs within hours, but COVID 19 pneumonia is different, researchers at Northwestern University Medicine explain in a new study published in the journal Nature.

👉In pneumonia caused by bacteria and viruses like influenza, these agents can usually be controlled by antibiotics or by the body's immune system, within the first few days of the illness.

👉The virus responsible for COVID 19, however, does not rapidly infecting large regions of the lung like other viruses. Instead, SARS-CoV-2 sets up shop in multiple small areas of the lung, the study has found. The virus then hijacks the lung's own immune cells and uses them to spread across the lung over a period of many days or even weeks, "like multiple wildfires spreading across a forest", Northwestern University said in statement on the research.

👉And infection slowly moves across the lung, it leaves damage in its wake and continuously fuels the fever, low blood pressure and damage to the kidneys, brain, heart, and other organs in patients with COVID 19. The severe complications of COVID 19 compared with other pneumonia might be related to the long course of disease rather than more severe disease, the study authors said.

👉According to Northwestern University, this is the first study in which scientists analysed immune cells from the lungs of COVID 19 pneumonia patients in a systematic manner and compared them to cells from patients with pneumonia from other virus or bacteria.

👉As a result of the detailed analysis, researchers identified critical targets to treat severe SARS-COV-2 pneumonia and lessen its damage. The targets are the immune cells : Macrophages and T cells.The study suggests that Macrophages, cells typically charged with protecting the lung, can be infected by SARS-COV-2 and can contribute to spreading the infection through the lung.