When her five boys had the flu, she gave them rainbow ice cream, soda, Mars bars—and plenty of water.
She gets every vaccine, travels the world, and worries more about stray dogs than viruses in far-flung countries. And virologist Thea Kølsen Fischer washes her hands. Constantly.
How did you sleep last night?
»Actually really well. I got my eight hours, was deep in REM sleep, and remembered fragments of my dream this morning. Lovely. It doesn’t happen every night.«
What did you eat yesterday?
»Coffee for breakfast, a habit from when I lived in Italy. I’m more alert in the morning if I don’t eat too much. I like to drink a glass of celery juice if I have time to make it. For lunch, delicious fish and vegetables from the oven at the annual meeting of Lægevidenskabeligt Selskab (the Organization of Danish Medical Societies). A vegetable juice when I got home, and a cheese sandwich.«
What do you never eat for fear of infections?
»In countries with questionable food hygiene, I typically avoid buffets and consistently say no to anything that isn’t cooked or fried. I only choose sushi where I can confidently imagine a clean kitchen with good refrigeration. If my food is to be raw, my willingness to pay increases.«
How do you handle things in your kitchen?
»I wash cutting boards and consistently separate raw meat, especially chicken, from other foods to avoid contamination with bacteria and parasites. I always wash my hands before, but also often during cooking, and wash all fruits and vegetables and dry them with clean towels.«
How much have you exercised in the past week?
»I’ve never done strength training, but a few years ago I started crossfit and am completely, wildly addicted.
Typically, I train three to four times a week in a group and am always wildly exhausted and super well afterwards. For many years, I’ve met with a group of girlfriends, we eat, drink, and go out dancing. We freestyle through the night at clubs and have a blast. I’m sure that dance nights and crossfit bring more joy and more healthy days than most other things I do, so bring it on.«
Have you drunk alcohol in the past week?
»Yes, indeed. I typically have a couple of glasses of good white wine during the week. In summer, also beer. I rarely drink spirits, except for a good gin and tonic. I normally drink less than seven units a week – except in weeks with club nights. Then I go all out.«
How much time do you spend on screens?
»Uhhh, let’s not talk about that. I’m a research director and this week I’ve had extra tasks and a deadline. Way too many hours. Double-digit hours. Every day. Don’t tell anyone.«
What medication and supplements do you take?
»Fish oil, which is documented to be good for the heart and circulation and recommended by a cardiologist friend. No medication. I’m out every day with the dogs and get fresh air and daylight, otherwise, I would take vitamin D.«
Do you use health gadgets?
»I have an Apple Watch with various health functions, but I find all the tracking – sleep, steps, and everything – exhausting. So now I’m back to my good old running watch.«
Why did you become interested in viruses?
»During medical school, I worked as a night watch at Rigshospitalet, where young men in the late ’80s and early ’90s were hospitalized with AIDS. It was before effective medical prevention and treatment. I held several hands in their last hours before their far too early deaths.«
»They were young, who like me should have had their lives ahead of them, but infected with the invisible HIV virus, they lost everything. It was so unfair and made an indelible impression.«
Name the most important study in your field?
»It was incredible when a study in 1999 showed that preventive treatment of HIV-infected pregnant women with nevirapine can prevent the fetus from being infected, and the child is born without HIV. At that time, I was working in Africa, where HIV spread like wildfire. That study was the cause of the very first hope for a weapon against HIV.«
»Since then, effective medication has come to market that prevents the virus from multiplying in the body. It has revolutionized the treatment of HIV/AIDS globally. Unfortunately, to a lesser extent in low-income countries, where far too many are still infected and die of AIDS.«
What was the most important coronavirus study?
»At the end of January 2020, a study was published that changed everything. A Chinese businesswoman had recently been to a business meeting in Germany, without having respiratory symptoms or fever. On the flight home to Wuhan, she developed symptoms and was diagnosed with COVID-19 upon arrival. She had no symptoms at the meetings in Germany, but one of the German business people she met with was still infected.«
»We learned something crucial: SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus, ed.) spreads before the infected person shows symptoms. It turned everything we thought about transmission upside down because then the epidemic can’t be stopped by isolating those with symptoms. A cruel realization. For then we knew the pandemic was coming.«
What do you do yourself to avoid infectious diseases?
»When people around me cough or sneeze, I instinctively move away. My kids tease me that I take the sheriff’s badge with me when I go out, I find it hard not to share a few tips with strangers who cough or sneeze without covering their mouths. At work, if possible, we cancel physical meetings for colds and/or severe coughing. The person with the cold joins via screen.«
Do you go crazy with hand sanitizer and washing?
»Hand hygiene is pretty important to me. I always shake hands, but wash/sanitize afterward. When I walk around the hospital and touch door handles, I always wash my hands afterward. Abroad, I’m particularly attentive. Six months ago, I was in France with my boys, and they know how I feel about elevator buttons, so they deliberately avoided touching the button. And then we just stood there. Until I finally pressed it.«
Why panic over an elevator button?
»When the first SARS coronavirus spread in 2002-2003 from China, a doctor staying at the Metropole Hotel in Hong Kong was behind a legendary chain of transmission. Several people staying at the hotel were infected and created a chain of transmission to the rest of the world. The hypothesis is that they either touched an elevator button or the elevator door that the doctor had touched and left the SARS virus on.«
What do you do when your children have an infectious disease?
»I make sure they are hydrated and also get solid food. It doesn’t necessarily shorten the illness, but the recovery period afterward, and they feel physically better during the illness. I also focus on protein so they don’t lose too much muscle mass and recover faster. When they were little and had high fever and no appetite, they also got some fever reducers, like paracetamol, so they could get some calories: rainbow ice cream, chips, Mars bars, cookies, soda. The ’sick diet’ sometimes looked like a panic purchase for a children’s birthday.«
What is the biggest myth about flu vaccines?
»That it can give you the flu. It doesn’t, but you can get a fever and feel unwell after vaccination because the immune system is activated. That’s completely normal.«
What home remedies work against infections?
»It’s wise to avoid cooling down, which makes the immune system more vulnerable to viruses and less able to fight them. It’s not the cold that makes you sick, but the virus. Live healthily, it strengthens gut bacteria and the immune system. Get enough sleep. It prevents illness and reduces the illness period and gives milder illness.«
Does vitamin C help against the flu?
»It’s a myth that vitamin C prevents you from getting the flu. There’s no evidence for that. The effect of vitamin C is primarily seen with common colds. But if you take vitamin C during a flu illness, you might reduce the severity a bit.«
Garlic?
»Yes, partially. In some studies, consuming larger daily amounts of raw garlic is associated with a reduced risk of getting the flu. And a shortened illness period. Other studies couldn’t document the effect outside the laboratory. Garlic should not replace flu vaccination for those at risk of severe illness.«
How do you prepare for travel outside Europe?
»I travel almost everywhere and have lived several times in Africa. But I always prepare. If you do that and take your precautions, it goes well. I get all relevant travel vaccines. It’s just so stupid to have your vacation ruined on day three with severe diarrhea you could have avoided. Not to mention more serious illnesses.
For example, stay away from stray dogs, there’s just no reason to get rabies. I recently avoided swimming in Lake Malawi because there’s a known risk of infection with the snail infection schistosomiasis, also called bilharzia, from the stagnant freshwater. It’s an infection with flatworms that penetrate the skin and move through the bloodstream to organs like the intestines, liver, or urinary tract. You typically realize you’re infected when you urinate blood.«
How do you view vaccines?
»It’s one of the most, most important medical inventions. Ever. Both childhood, travel, and seasonal vaccines. A host of diseases, including viral diseases like polio and rubella, have been so drastically reduced in prevalence that we don’t even think about them anymore. My own children have, of course, followed the childhood vaccination program in Denmark and around the world where we’ve lived.«
How satisfied would you be if you had yourself as a patient?
»I’m good with diet and exercise, but I wouldn’t be satisfied with my work-life balance. Because I’m quite passionate about my work and have a bit of trouble managing my time.«
Have you changed your behavior in recent years?
»I’ve become much more aware of the small joys in life. It’s probably something to do with age. The changes in nature and seasons, hiking, good health, the joy of good and meaningful relationships, sensory impressions, small acts of love, and thoughtful use of words. All of it makes me happy.«
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