Virus Essays

Influenza virus is a substantial threat for human health and is a big cause of ~500,000 death rates[1] and is responsible for ~50 million death worldwide over last 100 years.[2]-[4] Influenza viruses is generally classified in to three genera (A, B,C). Influenza A and B viruses have rapid evolution and continuous accumulation of amino acid changes in the antibody-binding sites of the surface protein, results in the change in antigenicity. Despite of existing vaccination programs, research in

Virus - a biological structure containing strands of ____________ or ____________ surrounded by a protective protein coat and cannot survive outside of cells. Origin of Viruses Difficult to pinpoint as viruses make copies of themselves within the host cells and are able to insert their own gene into the cell that have infected. Structure: x1000 times smaller than bacteria Dependent on internal workings of the host cell it invades to survive and reproduce They have no cytoplasm, membrane-bound organelles

Filoviruses are a family of viruses typically characterized by their filamentous or tubular shape (Martines et al., 2014). Each virion contains an envelope, capsid, and matrix, and uses negative-sense RNA to encode their genome (Martines et al., 2014). Ebolavirus and Marburgvirus are two types of viral hemorrhagic filoviruses, meaning they affect their hosts by causing fevers and internal and external bleeding (Stock, 2014). Marburgvirus obtained its name from the town of Marburg, Germany, where

possibility of a Lassa or Zika virus outbreak and focusses on the following four criteria - distribution, effect, treatment, and control methods. The Lassa virus originated in West Africa, and is transmitted through household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces. The mode of transmission is through an infected rodent, commonly known as the Multimammate rat, or Mastomys. Due to the distribution of the Multimammate rat (Refer to Figure 1), the Lassa virus has not affected very many countries

Virus one of the hotly debated topic in today’s society has been blamed for many illnesses and complication. According to Britannica encyclopedia a “virus, is an infectious agent of small size and simple composition that can multiply only in living cells of animals, plants, or bacteria”. To explain the theory of whether viruses is alive of dead let look at the following. Living things must be able to reproduce, grow and develop and some these principles exhibit by viruses when they enter the host

A filo virus is any virus that is characterized as filamentous single stranded RNA viruses which have unique ways of reproduction and structure. Alongside the Ebola virus, Marburg virus is part of the filo virus group. Marburg virus is almost difficult to notice apart from Ebola, they very closely resemble. Such virus causes a disease in both humans and animals, known as Marburg Virus Disease. It was first documented in humans from an outbreak in Germany and Yugoslavia. Several workers from a laboratory

Some viruses can be mild, and some can be deadly. Viruses such as rhinitis and gastroenteritis can be treated easily but some like malaria and the ebola virus can be fatal. Viruses are microscopic pathogenic particles so small that they can only be seen through an electron microscope. A virus particle, or a virion, consists of a strand of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a capsid (protein coat). Some have a membrane of lipid (envelope) surrounding the protein, providing an extra layer

parasites that are known to harm humans, animals, plants, and bacteria. It is for this reason that research is being devoted to their evolution in hosts. Virus evolution can be microevolution, which is small genetic changes in a population, or macroevolution, which is a large genetic change in a population that may lead to new virus species. Virus evolution is driven by natural selection and genetic drift. Natural selection involves mutations, and is often a rapid process as opposed to genetic drift

disease, including measles virus, mumps virus and rabies virus. Rabies is an untreatable disease of humans, which has a case-fatality rate of almost 100% in non-vaccinated individuals. The etiological agents of rabies are viruses of the globally distributed Lyssavirus genus, the best characterized of which is rabies virus (RABV), which infects diverse mammalian species, being transmitted to humans most commonly by bites from infected

replicate on its own and needs help from the host cell. It is defined as an enveloped virus and takes part of the host cell’s membrane with it when it leaves the cell. It can infect a number of different cells in the human body such as white blood cells, liver cells and cells of the adrenal glands. The genome of Ebola is single strand RNA and that is where it stores its genetic information. The RNA in the virus provides instructions for the host cell to make new viral proteins which are then released

Is a virus a living organism? First, we need to know what a virus is. A virus is a microscopic organism that leads to illnesses in living organisms, such as plant animals, and humans. There are three main parts of a virion(virus particle), the Nucleic acid which is a the center of the particle along with the DNA or RNA, the Protein Coat (capsid) covers the nucleic acid for protection and Lipid membrane which covers the capsid. However, some viruses do not have a lipid membrane and are called naked

they reproduce is through a host organism. Influenza virus only contain RNA which is a single stranded segmented genome (Gao et al., 2010). Raven., (2001) stated that to infect a host cell the virus must attach its RNA to it. Therefore, an infection to take place the virus needs to go through the plasma membrane of the host cell. However, some of the viruses do not entre the cell but they attach to the receptor sites of the plasma membrane. The virus inserts the genetic material into the host cell once

The term "virus" originated from a Latin word meaning slimy liquid or poison. Half of every humans DNA originates from one virus or another. Viruses take up 20 - 400 nanometers of space which is not visible to the naked eye. There are at least 10 viruses for every single organism on planet earth. Viruses are the largest single inhabitant of the ocean. In every milliliter of water, there are more than 1 million virus molecules. To give you an idea of the of the sheer amount of virus molecules that

A virus replicates itself when it comes in contact with a host cell it injects its genetic material into the host, taking over the host's functions and replicating itself. A cell that is infected then helps the virus spread around affecting the person depending on the virus. Some host cells take a short amount of time to cause change to a person's body. However, Some viruses last a long time inside host cells for long periods of time and they don't cause any major changes in their host cells making

When we consider if a virus is a living object we need to get the rules on living things, look at the characteristics of the virus, and compare the characteristics to the rules. A few of the virus characteristics are listed here. Viruses have at least two parts, an outer capsid and an inner core of DNA or RNA. They are non-cellular meaning they are not made of cells. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites which means they can only reproduce inside a living cell, this means they need a cell

My assigned book is the hot zone by Richard Preston, the book demonstrates about a highly contagious and lethal virus that is known as “Ebola virus” that is divided into two types the Ebola Zaire and the Ebola Sudan. The writer also mentioned about other filo viruses such as the Marburg virus and rabies. The hot zone book illustrates the origins of the virus and how it started to disperse from one person to another or from a region to another. And how epidemiologists, scientists and doctors discovered

bacterial particles. Viruses rely on the host cells they infect to reproduce. While outside of host cells, viruses are protein coats or capsids, sometimes inside a layer of film. The capsid carries DNA or RNA1 which give the virus its unique features. In this state the virus is metabolically inert, or it doesn’t use any of its resources to make energy. 1 - Ribonucleic acid: it performs as a messenger for the DNA cells; it manufactures the proteins for living cells using the DNA’s genetic information

A virus is considered non- living but shows two things of living, they are made up of protein and genetic material. Viruses are very small, they can be seen with a microscope, and invade living cells. Since viruses don’t consist of cells, they have to depend on a host cell to help them make copies of their selves. When a virus enters a cell it uses that cells ATP to replicate. In order for viral replication to occur, the virus must first enter the cell and attach to it. Once it does this it releases

The tobacco mosaic virus is a single-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the genus tobamovirus, the genus that specifically affects the family Solanaceae and belongs to the family Virgaviridae. The tobacco mosaic virus was the first virus to be discovered(1). In 1982, Dmitri Ivanovsky suggested that there was a non-bacterial infectious agent that was still present in the infected sap after filtering(2,3). In 1898, Beijerinck repeated the Ivanovsky experiments and also found out that the infectious

1. Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV): Varicella and Zoster virus (VZV) belongs to the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily and is the responsible for two human illnesses: varicella and zoster. Three Alphaherpesviruses are capable of infecting humans: herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV). The members of this subfamily are commonly characterised by their ability to establish a latent infection in neurons. Primary infection occurs in epithelial cells leading