Portal:Viruses
Viruses are small infectious agents that can replicate only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all forms of life, including animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and archaea. They are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and are the most abundant type of biological entity, with millions of different types, although only about 5,000 viruses have been described in detail. Some viruses cause disease in humans, and others are responsible for economically important diseases of livestock and crops.
Virus particles (known as virions) consist of genetic material, which can be either DNA or RNA, wrapped in a protein coat called the capsid; some viruses also have an outer lipid envelope. The capsid can take simple helical or icosahedral forms, or more complex structures. The average virus is about 1/100 the size of the average bacterium, and most are too small to be seen directly with an optical microscope.
The origins of viruses are unclear: some may have evolved from plasmids, others from bacteria. Viruses are sometimes considered to be a life form, because they carry genetic material, reproduce and evolve through natural selection. However they lack key characteristics (such as cell structure) that are generally considered necessary to count as life. Because they possess some but not all such qualities, viruses have been described as "organisms at the edge of life".
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Cervical cancer is a tumour of the cervix, the junction between the uterus and vagina in the female reproductive tract. Certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) are implicated in more than 90% of these cancers, although the great majority of HPV infections of the cervix are not associated with cancer. HPV is transmitted by vaginal sex, infecting cervical epithelial cells. In 5–10% of cases, infection persists for years, and pre-cancerous changes called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia can develop. These can regress, but sometimes progress to cancer. Although in nearly all forms of the cancer, HPV infection is considered essential for cancer to develop, other risk factors are involved, including smoking, HIV infection and other forms of immune suppression.
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide. It can be detected by screening; screening every 3–5 years, with appropriate follow-up, can reduce cancer incidence by up to 80%. HPV vaccines protect against types 16 and 18, which cause three-quarters of cancers. Where screening and vaccination are not available, cervical cancer has substantial mortality; worldwide, an estimated 528,000 cases and 266,000 deaths occurred in 2012, with 80% of these being in developing countries.
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The antiviral fomivirsen was the first antisense therapy to be licensed by the FDA. It binds to a cytomegalovirus mRNA and is used to treat cytomegalovirus retinitis.
Credit: Fvasconcellos (1 January 2007)
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Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme that makes complementary DNA from an RNA template. It was discovered in 1970 by Howard Temin in Rous sarcoma virus, a retrovirus that causes tumours in chickens, and independently the same year by David Baltimore, for which the two shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The discovery was initially controversial, as reverse transcription contradicts the central dogma of molecular biology, that information flows from DNA to RNA to protein.
Reverse transcription is essential for the replication of retroviruses, and allows them to integrate into the host genome as a provirus. The enzyme is a target for reverse-transcriptase inhibitors, an important class of anti-HIV drugs. The process is also important in eukaryotic genomes, in the replication of chromosome ends and retrotransposons, a type of mobile genetic element. Reverse transcriptase is widely used in the laboratory for molecular cloning, RNA sequencing, polymerase chain reaction and genome analysis.
16 March: Multiple new cases of Ebola virus are reported in Koropara, southern Guinea. WHO
10 March: The ongoing Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak (virus pictured) continues in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with 46 new cases in February and March. WHO
8 March: Endogenous retrovirus Fc sequences, first identified in primates, are found in 11 different mammalian orders including rodents and carnivores. eLife
4 March: Endogenous retrovirus regulatory elements act as enhancers for interferon-induced immune genes in mammals. Science
4 March: Abnormal foetal ultrasound results are found in 12 of 42 pregnant women infected with Zika virus in Rio de Janeiro. NEJM
4 March: Zika virus is shown to productively infect human neural progenitor cells in vitro, causing cell death. Cell Stem Cell
1 March: The first dengue outbreak in Uruguay is reported, with 17 confirmed cases, mainly in Montevideo. WHO
27 February: The first chikungunya outbreak (virus pictured) in Argentina is reported, with 30 confirmed non-imported cases, mainly in Tartagal. WHO
29 February: A case-control study in 42 people with Guillain–Barré syndrome in Tahiti, French Polynesia in 2013–14 suggests that Zika virus might cause the syndrome. Lancet
24 February: A meta-analysis estimates that 2.3 million people, mainly those who inject drugs, are infected with both HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 82% of HIV+ injecting drug users are also infected with HCV. Lancet Infect Dis
24 February: In 82 Liberian Ebola survivors participating in the PREVAIL III study, frequent neurological problems are seen at least 6 months after the onset of symptoms. EurekAlert
23 February: Japanese encephalitis virus can be transmitted directly between pigs, without requiring a mosquito vector. Nat Commun
17 February: A novel gammaherpesvirus related to equine herpesvirus 2 is discovered in a cell line derived from the cave myotis bat (pictured). mSphere
16 February: An outbreak of Lassa fever occurs in Benin, with 71 suspected cases including 23 deaths; a Nigerian outbreak is also ongoing. WHO 1, 2 Template:/box-footer
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The 1918 flu pandemic was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two involving H1N1 influenza virus. The pandemic's geographic origin is unknown. Lasting from January 1918 until December 1920, it infected 500 million people across the entire globe, with a death toll of 50–100 million (3–5% of the world's population), making it one of the deadliest natural disasters of human history. It was also implicated in the outbreak of encephalitis lethargica in the 1920s.
Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill young, elderly or already weakened patients; in contrast the 1918 pandemic predominantly killed healthy young adults. Modern research suggests that the virus kills through a cytokine storm, an overreaction of the body's immune system. The strong immune reactions of young adults resulted in a more severe disease with a higher mortality rate, whereas the weaker immune systems of children and older adults resulted in fewer deaths.
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| “ | ...getting rid of the last 1 percent has been like trying to squeeze Jell-O to death. As the vaccination fist closes in one country, the virus bursts out in another... | ” |
—Donald McNeil on the campaign to eradicate polio
Template:/box-header Viruses & Subviral agents: elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus • HIV • introduction to viruses
• Playa de Oro virus • poliovirus • prion • rotavirus • viruses
Diseases: colony collapse disorder • common cold • dengue fever • gastroenteritis • Guillain–Barré syndrome • hepatitis B • hepatitis C • herpes simplex • HIV/AIDS • influenza • meningitis • poliomyelitis • shingles • smallpox
Epidemiology & Interventions: 1918 flu pandemic • 2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak • 2009 flu pandemic • HIV/AIDS in Malawi • polio vaccine
Host response: antibody • immune system • RNA interference
Social & Media: And the Band Played On • Contagion • "Flu Season" • Frank's Cock • Race Against Time • social history of viruses • "Steve Burdick" • "The Time Is Now"
People: Brownie Mary • Frank Macfarlane Burnet • Aniru Conteh • HIV-positive people • people with hepatitis C • poliomyelitis survivors • Ryan White Template:/box-footer
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Rotavirus is a genus of double-stranded RNA viruses in the family Reoviridae. There are five species A–E; rotavirus A, the most common, causes over 90% of infections in humans. Rotavirus also infects animals, including livestock. The virus is transmitted by the faecal–oral route, with fewer than 100 virus particles being required for infection. Rotaviruses are stable in the environment and normal sanitary measures fail to protect against them. Effective rotavirus vaccines are the main prevention method.
The virus infects and damages the enterocytes lining the small intestine, causing gastroenteritis (sometimes referred to as "stomach flu," although the virus is not related to influenza). A viral toxin is responsible for some of the pathology. Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children. Almost every child worldwide has been infected with rotavirus at least once by the age of five. Over 500,000 children under five die from rotavirus infection each year and almost two million more become severely ill. Immunity develops with repeated infections and adults are rarely affected.
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- ...that the stripes on tulips (examples pictured) that caused tulip mania were probably caused by a virus, but this was unknown to science at the time?
- ...that the Tiverton fire of 1731 resulted in an increased incidence of smallpox?
- ...that research by Harold Ginsberg on adenoviruses led to the development of gene therapy, in which modified versions of viruses can be used to implant healthy versions of genes to treat disease?
- ...that the human bocavirus is the fourth most commonly found virus in samples collected from the respiratory system?
- ...that according to (RED), providing health-restoring antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people in Africa, as described in the documentary The Lazarus Effect, costs US$0.40 per person per day?
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Edward Jenner (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was an English physician and scientist from Berkeley, Gloucestershire, who was the pioneer of the smallpox vaccine.
Noting the common observation that milkmaids were generally immune to smallpox, Jenner postulated that the pus in the blisters that milkmaids received from cowpox (a similar but much less virulent disease) protected them from smallpox. Jenner tested his hypothesis by inoculating an eight-year-old boy with such pus. He subsequently repeatedly challenged the boy with variolous material, then the standard method of immunisation, without inducing disease. Although others had previously inoculated subjects with cowpox, Jenner was the first to show that the procedure induced immunity to smallpox. He later successfully popularised cowpox vaccination.
Jenner is often called "the father of immunology", and his work is said to have "saved more lives than the work of any other man".
5 June 1981: First report of HIV/AIDS (symbol pictured) appeared in medical literature
6 June 1997: Gene silencing in plants shown to be a viral defence mechanism
7–13 June 1962: Donald Caspar and Aaron Klug proposed the quasi-equivalence principle of virus structure
7–13 June 1962: André Lwoff proposed a viral classification scheme based on nature of genome, type of symmetry and presence of envelope
7–13 June 1962: George Hirst proposed that the influenza virus genome is segmented
9 June 1981: The American Society for Virology was founded
13 June 2012: First case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) occurred in Saudi Arabia
18 June 1981: A vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease was the first genetically engineered vaccine
21 June 1996: Nevirapine approved, first NNRTI for HIV/AIDS
26 June 1993: Clinical trial of hepatitis B virus drug fialuridine terminated; the drug caused several fatalities due to lactic acidosis
28 June 2011: FAO declared rinderpest eradicated
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Zidovudine (ZDV) (also known as AZT and Retrovir) is an antiretroviral drug used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Classed as a nucleoside analogue reverse-transcriptase inhibitor, it inhibits HIV's reverse transcriptase enzyme, which copies the viral RNA into DNA and is essential for its replication. The first breakthrough in AIDS therapy, ZDV was licensed in 1987. While it significantly reduces HIV replication, leading to clinical and immunological benefits, when used alone ZDV does not completely stop replication, allowing the virus to become resistant to it. The drug is therefore used together with other anti-HIV drugs in combination therapy called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). To simplify its administration, ZDV is included in Combivir, Trizivir and other combination pills. ZDV can also be used to prevent HIV transmission, such as from mother to child during childbirth or after a needlestick injury.
A selection of recent articles of interest include:
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