There are many types of pathogens that can cause infections including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and Protists. However, only certain types of pathogens cause more harm. The virus is responsible for 90 percent of all human infections/diseases. Infections caused by a virus infection are usually highly malignant or life-threatening. In this article, we will learn about such viruses, their types and their effects.
The virus cannot be classified as a prokaryote or eukaryote because it is not a cell. So one of the most complicated is what their structure is. Viruses are often much smaller than cells, usually you need an electron microscope to find a virus. Viruses are in many different forms.
Antibiotics kill the bacteria that cause the disease. Antifungal medications take the fungus. These bacteria and fungi live with a single cell structure, but the virus is not like this. A type of virus called bacteriophage is capable of attacking and destroying bacteria.
One thing that is common to all viruses is that they contain certain types of genetic material. This genetic material can be in the form of DNA or RNA. Viruses usually have some kind of protein coat, also called a capsid. Capsid helps to preserve that DNA or RNA genetic material. Viruses also have different structures. Some viruses have special enzymes with them, and some viruses have an outer sheath. These help in the attachment of the virus and its replication. Here, we are going to look at two types of viral replication.
1. Lytic Cycle: A living substance is required for the reproduction of viruses. This is why these viruses attack cells, which is called the host of the virus. The virus first selects a specific cell and transmits its DNA or RNA to that cell. Thus the virus that enters the cells begins its reproduction in that cell. The whole infected cell comes under the control of the virus.
Then the reproduced viruses break down the cell membranes and come out. These viruses pick up other cells again and make them go through a similar lytic cycle. As a result, the number of immune cells begins to decline. Thus the immune system is affected and becomes ill. This is called the lytic cycle.
2.Lysogenic cycle: In a selected cell, the virus injects its own gene into the cell's genome. No damage will occur if this merger takes place. Instead, the virus's gene combines with the cell's gene to form new cells. These new cells are indirectly affected by the virus' genes. It does not cause major damage at that time but once again the lytic growth pattern i.e. when the virus is infected it easily becomes normal for those cells to be infected by the virus. The reason is that the cells are already bound by the gene of that particular virus. That is the Lysogenic cycle.
This will not cause any major damage as long as your immune system is strong( Know more about the immune system). Conversely, if you are infected with another co-morbidity or any particular virus infects your body it can have bad consequences. For example, it can cause infections of the HIV virus. Probably a factor as to why they're doing so poorly.
Helper T Cells play a major role in the immune system. Helper T cells are the first to fight off pathogenic microorganisms. But deadly viruses such as HIV, which causes AIDS, bind to CD4 glycoproteins, which are found on the surface of specific cells such as Helper T cells. The problem with this particular goal is that Helper T cells play an important role in protecting the body in the immune system. Because HIV binds to these immune cells, a person infected with HIV can become susceptible to other infections.
Drugs have been developed to help prevent the rapid development of HIV, and research is ongoing into ways to keep the virus from attaching to its gene. We will continue to look at more important and dangerous viruses.
Rhinovirus: This type of virus usually causes common problems such as fever, cough, runny nose and headache. And there are more than 200 types of this type of virus.
Influenza virus: This type of virus is commonly known as the flu, which causes the common cold.
Hepatitis A: This virus usually affects the liver. If the infection persists, jaundice, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting may occur.
Hepatitis B: It causes inflammation in the liver. It is spread through contaminated blood and body fluids.
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus-HIV): It affects certain types of T cells in the immune system. The progression of the infection reduces the body's ability to fight disease and infection, which leads to AIDS.
West Nile virus (WNV): It is usually spread by mosquitoes. Up to 80% of people with WNV have no symptoms at all, while others develop fever, headaches and other symptoms. Less than 1% of people with WNV develop encephalitis or inflammation of the tissues around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).
SARS-COV-2 / Novel Coronavirus: This is a respiratory coronavirus that causes COVID-19 infection. The first infection of this virus came in December 2019 from Wuhan city in China. Symptoms include cough, fever, shortness of breath and pneumonia.
These are all specific types of viruses. Many more viruses cause a variety of infections. Through this article, we have given some basic information about viruses and their pathogenesis. We hope you find this information is useful.
