It's not more 'transmissible'.

[RudolphToldRedNoseNotSymptom]

It's more con-fucking-tagious.

Just spit it out without inventing new words. Who ever heard of transmissible until 4.20pm today? Does it make it better? No. It means it's more contagious.

Contagious is generally used for illnesses that are spread via bodily contact, I think. So transmissible is a better word in this case.

The Chief Scientific Advisor did at least say that it's thought to have originated in England

Great. Well, we'll issue it a fucking blue passport because apparently that makes everything so much better! I hate this year. sulks

I much prefer accuracy with words in this situation

Whitty is good at it and I appreciate it

Some people will cope better with the word transmissible because it's not as threatening as contagious. There are so many people suffering mh issues without chucking that word about.

I mean, I know they said after Brexit we'd have to start making more stuff in the U.K. but this seems a stretch.

@RudolphToldRedNoseNotSymptom

And Whitty couldn't say for certain 'anything' about this highly transmissible strain. The Chief Scientific Advisor did at least say that it's thought to have originated in England. Yooohooo. Made in the UK.

Made in the UK! That's us getting ready for Brexit. We need more home grown.

We're not fucked. This is what viruses do. It's more contagious but not more lethal, it may be less harmful than the original strain. Vaccination programmes are still key to controlling this, the vaccine can be tweaked to suit the most virulent strain as the flu vaccine is.

We're the first country to identify a new strain. That doesn't mean other countries don't have different mutations.

I think your rage is transmissible though Op . I'm gutted about the situation as much as everyone. Transmissible is difficult to say after a few wines which is also annoying

A contagious disease is a subset category of transmissible diseases.

@DontBeShelfish

I mean, I know they said after Brexit we'd have to start making more stuff in the U.K. but this seems a stretch.

😂

@SmileyClare - thank you for being the voice of reason and hope

Hmm. Well I do have a degree in biochemistry (very old!) and I was thinking earlier about the 'transmissible' thing and came to the conclusion they meant it's 70% more contagious, i.e. almost twice as contagious. The word 'contagious' sounds far more threatening, which is why I think they've gone for 'transmissible'.

Yes, just having a vent into the void. Ignore me. It's not transmissible

It is though, isn’t it.

I’m sure I heard in the news that another strain was found elsewhere in Europe. Spain?
I may well be wrong so don’t quote me 😏

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contagious_disease#:~:text=A%20contagious%20disease%20is%20a,airborne%20route%20among%20other%20routes.

They don't mean the same thing.

Why are they trying not to scare us though? I’m not a biochemist; language is my thing, and I’d have thought they’d want to justify the new measures rather than downplay the need.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

When I don't know a word I usually check dictionary online rather than claiming it doesn't exist. 😂 Because like that, half an English wouldn't exist😂

I check the dictionary on the bookshelf.

Can't trust the internet these days.

How do they know? I could google, but can someone explain how they know there’s a new strain? Do they grow a bunch of posotive swans in Petri dishes and have a look? That must take aaaaagggggeees and be a very dull job.

@FPS123

Why are they trying not to scare us though? I’m not a biochemist; language is my thing, and I’d have thought they’d want to justify the new measures rather than downplay the need.

They aren't downplaying, they are using the correct word. They are scientists, to them transmissible and contagious aren't the same thing.

COVID is communicable, infectious, contagious and transmissible. Transmissible is the term used because they don't want to imply it isn't also all of these other things, and as contagious is a subset of tranmissible/often pitted against 'infectious', they don't want to underplay the serious nature of this. This is also true because this new strain may be either more transmissible or more likely to impact children, to the extent they are getting tested more and thus less likely to be asymptomatic than we have seen historically. We don't know which, or if there is an alternative explanation, yet.

The aim is to test the strain (UI-202012/01) robustly in time to make a decision about lockdown prior to schools returning. This is also important to be sure the vaccines will be effective against this strain too. It has 17 distinct changes compared to the strain we're used to, and needs to be analysed carefully. What we need is more people to get tested and coded, because new strains help scientists understand the spread of COVID better.

I never said it wasn't a word!

You said it was made up.

They could have just said that it’s more catching.

Yes it looks more "spiky" under a really powerful microscope so more sticky. You breathe it in, it's more like to stick in your nose/throat and multiply.

They amplify up a sequence of DNA using PCR and then send it for genotyping. I don't know how they do the genotyping but you can't grow viruses in a Petri dish

Transmittal describes it better than contagious.

Transmissible is a widely used term & is not precisely interchangeable with either 'infectious' or 'contagious'. A disease which is transmissible is one that can be spread from person to person. However it may not easily spread - for example CJD is transmissible from human to human but only via invasive procedures (variant CJD has been spread via blood donation; sporadic CJD via organ donation). CJD is therefore very hard to transmit for person to person so is not infectious or contagious. Measles on the other hand is highly contagious & spreads very easily & rapidly. So to say that a mutated virus is more transmissible means just that- it spreads more easily. I don't think we have enough detail to describe it as contagious (social distancing wouldn't work if it was).