Viruses are infectious agents that have a simple acellular structure that is mainly made up of a protein coat or capsid and a nucleic acid genome which can either be DNA or RNA. Some viruses also have envelopes (which are lipid-containing outer membranous layer that surround the nucleocapsid in some viruses) while others lack them, […]
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Virology
Several reasons exist for the inactivation of viruses I either to use them for a useful purpose such as in studying varying properties or to inactivate and attenuate their pathogenicity or virulence so that they do not cause harm to a living host including humans, animals and plants. Some of the major reasons for inactivating
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Virology
Viruses have several physicochemical properties including pH, molecular size or mass, stability to heat and susceptibility to organic solvents such as ether and other physical or chemical agents that may affect their proper development and replication. They react to various chemical and physical factors in their environment. These factors inclusive of chemical and physical factors
CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF VIRUSES Read More »
Virology
Viroids are sub-viral infectious entities that infect plants. They are acellular infectious agents like the prions that lack the essential features of a virus; and which are capable of directing their own replication since they have small naked RNA as their genome. Unlike the prions which lack nucleic acids (inclusive of DNA and RNA), viroids
Prions are sub-viral infectious entities that consist mainly of proteins. They are unique infectious particles that lack nucleic acids inclusive of DNA and RNA. Prions are infectious proteins that generally lack DNA and RNA; and they cause series of diseases in man and animals. They differ from the normal virion in so many ways. Prions
Immunization is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine. Vaccines stimulate the body’s own immune system to protect the person against subsequent infection or disease. Another word that can be used for immunization is vaccination. Immunization is a proven tool for
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Immunology & Immune System, Virology
Adenoviruses are found in the viral family known as Adenoviridae. They are non-enveloped viruses with an icosahedral nucleocapsid. Adenoviruses are DNA viruses; and they possess a double stranded DNA molecule. Adenoviruses are a group of viruses that typically cause respiratory illnesses, such as a common cold, conjunctivitis, croup, bronchitis, or pneumonia. In children, adenoviruses usually
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Virology
Diagnostic methods accurately identify viral infections in patients. This is a prerequisite to control and limit virus propagation through an effective clinical management of the disease. A precise identification of the ongoing or past viral infection helps to achieve the following: Failure in diagnosis can lead to significant human and financial loss. This is why it
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Virology
The yellow fever virus is found in tropical and subtropical areas of Africa and South America. The virus is spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito. Yellow fever is a very rare cause of illness in U.S. travelers. Illness ranges from a fever with aches and pains to severe liver disease with
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is an illness caused by a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Most MERS patients developed severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. About 3 or 4 out of every 10 patients reported with MERS have died. All cases
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Public Health & Parasitic Diseases (Parasitology), Virology