MedAboutMe - Viruses: diversity of species, diseases, treatment and prevention. What are viruses? Biology: types and classification of viruses Viruses exist in the form

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A person is most susceptible to various colds in the autumn and spring. Viral infectious diseases are a type of disease that is caused by an infection that has penetrated into a weakened body. They can occur in an acute form or in a sluggish form, but treatment must be carried out in both cases so as not to aggravate the situation and to avoid dangerous complications. On average, a person gets sick from colds 2 to 3 times a year, but the disease always develops due to viral DNA.

What are viral diseases

Types of viruses

Symptoms of pathology can be caused by different types bacteria that differ in location, development rate, and characteristics. Human viruses have a special classification; they are conventionally divided into fast and slow. The second option is very dangerous because the symptoms are very weak and the problem cannot be detected immediately. This gives it time to multiply and strengthen. Among the main types of viruses, the following groups are distinguished:

1. Orthomyxoviruses- all influenza viruses.
2. Adenoviruses and Rhinoviruses. They provoke ARVI - an acute respiratory viral infection that affects the respiratory system. Symptoms are very similar to the flu, but can cause complications (bronchitis, pneumonia)
3. Herpesviruses– herpes viruses, which can for a long time live in the body asymptomatically and are activated immediately after the weakening of the immune system.
4. Meningitis. It is provoked by a meningococcal infection, the brain mucosa is damaged, and the virus feeds on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
5. Encephalitis– affects the lining of the brain, causing irreversible disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system.
6. Parvovirus, which is the causative agent of polio. A very dangerous disease that can cause convulsions, inflammation of the spinal cord, and paralysis.
7. Picornaviruses– causative agents of viral hepatitis.
8. Orthomyxoviruses– cause mumps, measles, parainfluenza.
9. Rotavirus– cause enteritis, intestinal flu, gastroenteritis.
10. Rhabdoviruses- causative agents of rabies.
11. Papoviruses– the cause of human papillomatosis.
12. Retroviruses- the causative agents of AIDS, HIV develops first, and then AIDS.

List of human viral diseases

Medicine knows a huge number of contagious viruses and infections that can provoke various diseases in the human body. Below are only the main groups of diseases that you are likely to encounter:

1. One of the largest groups of viral diseases is influenza (A, B, C), different types of colds that cause inflammation in the body, high fever, general weakness and sore throat. Therapy is carried out with the help of general restoratives, antiviral drugs, and, if necessary, antibacterial medications are prescribed.
2. Rubella. A common childhood pathology, less common in adults. Symptoms include damage to the lining of the respiratory tract and skin. eyes, lymph nodes. The virus is transmitted by droplets and is always accompanied by high fever and skin rashes.
3. Piggy. A dangerous viral disease affecting the respiratory tract, the salivary glands are severely affected. Rarely found in adult men, the testes are affected by this virus.
4. Measles– often found in children, the disease affects the skin, respiratory tract, and intestines. Transmitted by airborne droplets, the causative agent is paramyxovirus.
5. Poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis). The pathology affects the respiratory tract, intestines, and then penetrates the blood. Next, motor neurons are damaged, which leads to paralysis. The virus is transmitted by droplets, and sometimes a child can become infected through feces. In some cases, insects act as carriers.
6. Syphilis. This disease is sexually transmitted and affects the genitals. Then it affects the eyes, internal organs and joints, heart, liver. Antibacterial agents are used for treatment, but it is very important to determine the presence of pathology immediately, because it may not cause symptoms for a long time.
7. Typhus. It is rare and is characterized by a rash on the skin, damage to blood vessels, which leads to the formation of blood clots.
8. Pharyngitis. The disease is caused by a virus that enters the human body along with dust. Cold air, streptococci, and staphylococci can also provoke the development of pathology. Accompanied viral disease fever, cough, sore throat.
9. Angina– a common viral pathology, which has several subtypes: catarrhal, follicular, lacunar, phlegmonous.
10. Whooping cough. This viral disease is characterized by damage to the upper respiratory tract, swelling of the larynx is formed, and severe coughing attacks are observed.

The rarest human viral diseases

Most viral pathologies are contagious diseases that are sexually transmitted through airborne droplets. There are a number of diseases that are extremely rare:

1. Tularemia. The pathology, in its symptoms, strongly resembles the plague. Infection occurs after Francisella tularensis enters the body - it is an infectious bacillus. As a rule, it gets in with the air or through a mosquito bite. The disease is also transmitted from a sick person.
2. Cholera. This disease is very rare in modern medical practice. The Vibrio cholerae virus, which enters the body through dirty water and contaminated food, causes symptoms of pathology. The last outbreak of the disease was recorded in 2010 in Haiti, the disease claimed the lives of more than 4,500 people.
3. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. A very dangerous pathology that is transmitted through the meat of infected animals. The causative agent is considered to be a prion, a special protein that begins to actively destroy body cells after penetration. The insidiousness of the pathology lies in the absence of symptoms, the person begins to develop a personality disorder, develops severe irritation, and dementia. The disease cannot be cured and the person dies within a year.

Symptoms of the virus

Symptoms do not always appear immediately; some types of viral diseases can occur for a long time without obvious signs, which becomes a problem when further treatment. Every infectious disease goes through the following stages:

• incubation period;
• premonitory;
• the height of pathology;
• recovery.

The duration of the first stage always depends on the specific type of virus and can last from 2-3 hours to six months. Symptoms will differ depending on the developing disease, but, as a rule, the following manifestations are included in the general symptoms of viral pathologies:

• soreness, muscle weakness;
• slight chills;
• persistent body temperature;
• sensitivity of the skin to touch;
• cough, sore throat, watery eyes;
• dysfunction of some organs;
• enlarged lymph nodes.

Temperature due to viral infection

This is one of the body’s main reactions to the penetration of any pathogen. Temperature is a protective mechanism that activates all other immune functions to fight viruses. Most diseases occur with a high body temperature. Viral pathologies that provoke this symptom include:

• flu;
• ARVI;
• tick-borne encephalitis;
• childhood diseases: chickenpox, infectious mumps, rubella, measles;
• polio;
• Infectious mononucleosis.

There are often cases of the development of diseases in which the temperature does not rise. The main symptoms are watery discharge with a runny nose and sore throat. The absence of fever is explained by insufficient activity of the virus or the immune system is strong, and therefore does not fully use all possible methods of fighting the infection. If growth has begun, then high rates remain, as a rule, for about 5 days.

Signs

Most viruses provoke the development of acute respiratory pathologies. There is some difficulty in identifying diseases that were caused by bacteria, because the treatment regimen in this case will be very different. There are more than 20 varieties of viruses that cause ARVI, but their main symptoms are similar. Primary signs include the following manifestations:

• rhinitis (runny nose), cough with clear mucus;
• low temperature (up to 37.5 degrees) or fever;
• general weakness, headaches, poor appetite.

How to distinguish a cold from a virus

There is a difference between these two concepts. A cold occurs during prolonged exposure to the cold, severe hypothermia of the body, which leads to a weakened immune system and the appearance of an inflammatory process. This is not the name of the disease, but only the reason for the development of other pathologies. Viral pathology often becomes a consequence of a cold, because the body does not have enough protective forces to resist the pathogen.

Virus diagnostics

When visiting a doctor, he must conduct visual inspection and collect anamnesis. Usually. viral diseases are accompanied by fever, cough, runny nose, but after 3-4 days the person feels better. Specialists can determine the type of disease based on general symptoms or based on seasonal outbreaks of diseases, for example, influenza epidemics often begin in winter, and acute respiratory viral infections in the fall. Determining the exact type of virus will be required for specific treatment (HIV, syphilis, etc.). For this purpose, virological research is used.

This method in medicine is the “gold standard”, which is carried out in a special laboratory. As a rule, such methods are used during epidemic outbreaks of viral infectious diseases. Immunodiagnostic methods (immunoindication, serodiagnosis) are widely used for diagnosing pathogens. They are realized through various immune reactions:

• enzyme immunoassay (ELISA);
• radioisotope immunoassay (RIA);
• hemagglutination inhibition reaction;
• complement fixation reaction;
• immunofluorescence reaction.

Treatment of viral diseases

The course of therapy depends on the type of pathogen. For example, if it is necessary to treat ARVI, childhood viral pathologies (mumps, rubella, measles, etc.), then all medications are used to eliminate the symptoms. If you follow bed rest and diet, the body itself copes with the disease. Treatment of viruses is carried out in cases where they cause significant discomfort to a person. Apply for example:

• antipyretics if the temperature is above 37.5 degrees;
• vasoconstrictor drops are used to relieve nasal swelling;
• in rare cases, antibiotics (if included bacterial infection);
• NSAIDs that relieve pain and lower fever, for example, aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen.

During treatment, doctors recommend drinking more fluids to combat intoxication of the body, moderate nutrition, bed rest and room humidity of at least 50% where the patient is. Treatment for influenza is no different, but the doctor must monitor the patient, because this disease can cause serious consequences. One of them is pneumonia, which can lead to pulmonary edema and death.

If such complications begin, treatment must be carried out in a hospital using special medications (Zanamivir, Oseltamivir). When diagnosing the human papillomavirus, therapy consists of keeping the immune system in good shape, surgical removal of warts and condylomas. In cases of severe viral pathologies. For example, HIV requires a course of antiretroviral drugs. It cannot be completely eliminated, but it can be kept under control and prevent the spread of the disease.

If the genital organs are infected with herpes, it is necessary to take special medications; their maximum effectiveness has been confirmed in the first 48 hours. If you use the products later, their medicinal effect is significantly reduced and the course of treatment can last from several weeks to several months. Herpes on the lips needs to be treated with local remedies (ointments, gels), but even without them, the wound heals within a week.

Antiviral drugs

In medicine, there is a certain number of medications in this group that have proven their effectiveness and are used constantly. The entire list of drugs is divided into two types:

1. Medicines that stimulate human immunity.
2. Drugs that attack the detected virus are direct-acting drugs.

The first group refers to broad-spectrum drugs, but their use leads to serious complications. One example of such drugs is interferons, and the most popular of them is interferon alfa-2b. It is prescribed for the treatment of chronic forms of Hepatitis B, and was previously prescribed for hepatitis C. Patients had a hard time tolerating such therapy, which led to side effects from the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system. In some cases, pyrogenic properties appear and cause fever.

The second type of PPD medications is more effective and is easier to tolerate by patients. Among the popular drugs are the following options for treatment:

1. Herpes– acyclovir. Helps overcome the symptoms of the disease, but does not kill it completely.
2. Flu– influenza neuraminidase inhibitors (Zanamivir, Oseltamivir). Modern influenza strains have developed resistance to previous medications (adamantanes), and they are not effective. Name of drugs: Relenza, Ingavirin, Tamiflu.
3. Hepatitis. For the treatment of group B viruses, interferons are used together with Ribavirin. For hepatitis C, a new generation of drugs is used - Simeprevir. Its effectiveness reaches 80-91% of sustained virological response.
4. HIV. It cannot be completely cured; antiretroviral drugs provide a lasting effect, cause remission, and the person cannot infect others. Therapy continues throughout life.

Prevention

Preventative measures may vary slightly depending on the type of virus. For example, to prevent infection with hepatitis or HIV, it is necessary to protect yourself during sexual intercourse. There are two main directions for the prevention of viral diseases:

1. Specific. It is carried out to develop specific immunity in a person through vaccination. A person is injected with a weakened strain of the virus so that the body develops antibodies to it. This will help protect you from those with measles, flu, polio, and hepatitis (liver disease). Most life-threatening diseases can be prevented by vaccines.
2. Nonspecific. Strengthening the human immune defense, a healthy lifestyle, physical activity and normal nutrition. A person must follow the rules of hygiene, which will protect him from intestinal infections, and use protection during sexual intercourse to prevent HIV infection.

Regular advertising on the Internet does not provide the desired conversion? No wonder. Internet users are so tired of annoying advertising messages, videos, banners and other things that on a subconscious level they try to avoid them. What to do in this case? Stop advertising? Of course not! It is possible and necessary to advertise a product and/or company, it just needs to be done more competently, unobtrusively, interestingly, and originally. Content must be presented in such a way that users themselves want to not only perceive, but also disseminate information. We are talking, as you understand, about viral advertising.

Viral advertising got its name because it literally “infects” the audience with its idea and spreads like a real virus. Thanks to its originality, it is well remembered and quickly transferred from user to user. But such success is possible provided that advertising helps solve consumer problems and can reach the maximum audience. Viral advertising is most easily spread using social networks, forums, Email, i.e. through the capabilities of the Internet.

Advantages of viral advertising

• Benefit. Creating and distributing a “virus” is much cheaper than launching a traditional advertising campaign, since in this case you only spend money on creating the video, and distributing it is completely free, while you have to pay for each impression of traditional advertising.
• Scale. If viral advertising is successful, the reach of the target audience will be simply enormous and the cost of 1 contact with a consumer will be minimal.
• Freedom from censorship. Of course, everything should be adequate. However, viral advertising is not subject to advertising law.

So, we come to the most important questions. How to create viral advertising? What viral marketing methods exist? We have to disappoint you: there is no universal algorithm of actions or uniform recommendations. Each company, each product has its own individual characteristics, its own target audience, so viral advertising should be different, unique, aimed specifically at the interests and needs of potential customers. However, we will highlight the key points used when creating any viral advertising.

Stages of developing viral advertising on the Internet

1. Unobtrusiveness. Advertising should not be intrusive; the key message should be clear, but not “shout” to the viewer: “Buy me!”
2. Humor . Note that the most popular viral videos are usually humorous. Although this is not a panacea. Your idea may not be compatible with laughter and evoke completely different emotions.
3. Relevance . It is important that your idea corresponds to current events in the world, people's mentalities, and pressing problems of society.
4. Positive emotions. We talked about how viral advertising should evoke emotions. Disgust, anger, contempt are also emotions, but you should not evoke negative feelings in people, otherwise they will be associated with your product/service and the company as a whole.
5. Novelty. The idea must be unique, one that no one has used before.
6. Discussions. Your advertising should provoke people to discuss and express their opinions. Only then will they begin to broadcast this on their pages on social networks and forums.
7. Advertising message. In pursuit of originality and creativity, do not forget about the message you want to convey to your target audience.

Thus, in the first 3 days after the launch of a viral advertising campaign, you can immediately determine its success in the future.

Examples of cool viral advertising for inspiration

Disney Characters Surprise Shoppers video - shared 3,757,909 times.

Video Love Has No Labels - shared 2,741,138 times.

Budweiser USA video: #BestBuds - shared 2,511,546 times.

Video “The first day of your new life” - 1,919,525 views.

Video “You have something to be proud of” - 8,235,902 views.

The animated video “Stupid Ways to Die” has received more than 30 million views.

Video “The end of the world during an interview.”

Check out these examples of viral marketing and get inspired! And also stay tuned for updates to our articles and learn new useful information to develop your business and increase your sales.

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Viral marketing is at the peak of its popularity these days. This method of transmitting information increases the number of customers exponentially, especially in online business.

Why viral advertising? Viral does not mean harmful. If you associate the word virus with computer viruses, worms, Trojans, then I will calm you down. In our case, viral advertising is considered to be something that is transmitted between users on their own initiative. This type of advertising is very popular among marketers because of its effectiveness and low cost.

The whole difficulty lies in the fact that we cannot accurately predict the behavior of our product in an advertising campaign (whether it will go viral or not). To do this, we need to look at examples of viral products.

Examples of viral products in Russia and the world.

1. Viral clip (song). Group "Leningrad" with viral videos (on Louboutins, healthy lifestyle, drinking in St. Petersburg). Everyone liked it because it reveals the Russian soul, a lot of swearing and colloquial language, “the naked truth of life.”

2. Viral game. Game pokemon go. First of all, there are many mentions in the media. New technology additional reality. Pleasant memories of the animated series of the 2000s, when there was also mass hysteria with stickers and posters of Pokemon.

3. Funny short video (memes). Like a virus, we constantly downloaded video jokes to each other’s mobile phones (“Chumazik”, “Aha Airship”, “Irreplaceable Slavik”, “The Door Sang”). Nowadays, the popularity of a certain video does not take a long period of time due to the huge flow of new videos. But funny videos spread online at great speed, and we constantly remember and discuss many videos.

4. Viral news. In 2008, when Russia and the world were gripped by a financial crisis, a rumor appeared that buckwheat and salt would rise in price. People bought buckwheat and salt in bulk for several years in advance. The same thing happened in 2015, when people rushed to buy household appliances, someone bought three refrigerators. I think these rumors were started for a reason. A smart marketing move.

And so, we have identified several examples of viral products. Now you can identify the general similarities and main features of the virus.

Signs of viral products

A product can be called a virus when:

1. The product does not need support to grow as such. The product is self-distributed.

2. The product evokes emotions, no matter whether they are positive or negative (sexual arousal, fear, happiness, laughter, sadness, disgust, hatred).

3. The product is novel and interesting. It gives something without which it is no longer possible to imagine the modern world.

4.The product idea is simple and easy to remember.

5.The product is as accessible as possible to people. Or rather, on the contrary, any user is available to the product.

If a product has the above-described signs, it can be assumed that it has spread virally.

This is where the concept of “virus capacity” comes from.

“Virus capacity is a property that forces us to spread information about it to friends and acquaintances.

Its essence is that the greater the gap between price and quality (better quality, service, design and at the same time lower price), the greater the virus capacity of this product or establishment.

The marketer’s task is to launch a viral product with the highest virus capacity.

Now I will give some tips that you can use in your advertising programs to achieve high virus capacity.

Advertising techniques to increase virus capacity.

Celebrities.

Maximum involvement of the media.

Creative.

One of the important factors influencing the virality of a product is the creativity in its advertising. Come up with something that no one has done before and people will be interested in it. Everything new is always exciting. To achieve viral success, an advertisement must stand out from all other advertisements, and not just from its direct competitors.
Hype.

If a product is discussed by everyone, everywhere, then they know it and will advertise it. The discussion can be different, both positive and negative. Therefore, the danger of this method is that it can negatively affect the rating of the brand itself. But, as they say, it is impossible to be good to everyone.

On the verge of a foul.

This factor is best described as a video that most people wouldn't show their mom. Such videos are on the verge of social acceptability. Some may find them offensive, shocking, distasteful or have a "sick imagination". What's important, however, is that they combine this kind of brinksmanship with good humor. The shock element contained in the video is generally perceived as humorous rather than inappropriate. This also includes advertising with direct sexual overtones.

Luck.

There is an opinion that animals, plants and humans predominate in numbers on planet Earth. But this is actually not the case. There are countless microorganisms (microbes) in the world. And viruses are among the most dangerous. They can cause various diseases in humans and animals. Below is a list of the ten most dangerous biological viruses for humans.

Hantaviruses are a genus of viruses that are transmitted to humans through contact with rodents or their waste products. Hantaviruses cause various diseases belonging to such groups of diseases as “hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome” (mortality on average 12%) and “hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome” (mortality up to 36%). The first major outbreak of disease caused by hantaviruses, known as Korean hemorrhagic fever, occurred during the Korean War (1950–1953). Then more than 3,000 American and Korean soldiers felt the effects of a then unknown virus that caused internal bleeding and impaired kidney function. Interestingly, it is this virus that is considered the likely cause of the epidemic in the 16th century that exterminated the Aztec people.

Influenza virus is a virus that causes an acute infectious disease of the respiratory tract in humans. Currently, there are more than 2 thousand of its variants, classified into three serotypes A, B, C. The group of viruses from serotype A, divided into strains (H1N1, H2N2, H3N2, etc.) is the most dangerous for humans and can lead to epidemics and pandemics. Every year, between 250 and 500 thousand people worldwide die from seasonal influenza epidemics (most of them children under 2 years of age and elderly people over 65 years of age).

Marburg virus is a dangerous human virus first described in 1967 during small outbreaks in the German cities of Marburg and Frankfurt. In humans, it causes Marburg hemorrhagic fever (mortality rate 23-50%), which is transmitted through blood, feces, saliva and vomit. A natural reservoir for this virus Serve sick people, probably rodents and some species of monkeys. Symptoms in the early stages include fever, headache and muscle pain. In the later stages - jaundice, pancreatitis, weight loss, delirium and neuropsychiatric symptoms, bleeding, hypovolemic shock and multiple organ failure, most often the liver. Marburg fever is one of the top ten deadly diseases transmitted from animals.

Sixth on the list of the most dangerous human viruses is Rotavirus, a group of viruses that are the most common cause of acute diarrhea in infants and young children. Transmitted by the fecal-oral route. The disease is usually easy to treat, but kills more than 450,000 children under five worldwide each year, most of whom live in underdeveloped countries.

Ebola virus is a genus of virus that causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It was first discovered in 1976 during an outbreak of the disease in the Ebola River basin (hence the name of the virus) in Zaire, DR Congo. It is transmitted through direct contact with the blood, secretions, other fluids and organs of an infected person. Ebola fever is characterized by a sudden increase in body temperature, severe general weakness, muscle pain, headaches, and sore throat. Often accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired renal and liver function, and in some cases internal and external bleeding. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, in 2015, 30,939 people were infected with Ebola, of whom 12,910 (42%) died.

Dengue virus is one of the most dangerous biological viruses for humans, causing dengue fever, in severe cases, which has a mortality rate of about 50%. The disease is characterized by fever, intoxication, myalgia, arthralgia, rash and swollen lymph nodes. It is found mainly in the countries of South and Southeast Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Caribbean, where about 50 million people are infected annually. The carriers of the virus are sick people, monkeys, mosquitoes and bats.

Smallpox virus is a complex virus, the causative agent of a highly contagious disease of the same name that affects only humans. This is one of the oldest diseases, the symptoms of which are chills, pain in the sacrum and lower back, rapid increase in body temperature, dizziness, headache, vomiting. On the second day, a rash appears, which eventually turns into purulent blisters. In the 20th century, this virus claimed the lives of 300–500 million people. About US$298 million was spent on the smallpox campaign from 1967 to 1979 (equivalent to US$1.2 billion in 2010). Fortunately, the last known case of infection was reported on October 26, 1977 in the Somali city of Marka.

The rabies virus is a dangerous virus that causes rabies in humans and warm-blooded animals, which causes specific damage to the central nervous system. This disease is transmitted through saliva from the bite of an infected animal. Accompanied by an increase in temperature to 37.2–37.3, poor sleep, patients become aggressive, violent, hallucinations, delirium, a feeling of fear appear, soon paralysis of the eye muscles, lower extremities, paralytic respiratory disorders and death occurs. The first signs of the disease appear late, when destructive processes have already occurred in the brain (swelling, hemorrhage, degradation of nerve cells), which makes treatment almost impossible. To date, only three cases of human recovery without vaccination have been recorded; all others ended in death.

Lassa virus is a deadly virus that is the causative agent of Lassa fever in humans and primates. The disease was first discovered in 1969 in the Nigerian city of Lassa. It is characterized by a severe course, damage to the respiratory system, kidneys, central nervous system, myocarditis and hemorrhagic syndrome. It is found mainly in West African countries, especially in Sierra Leone, the Republic of Guinea, Nigeria and Liberia, where the annual incidence ranges from 300,000 to 500,000 cases, of which 5 thousand lead to the death of the patient. The natural reservoir of Lassa fever is polymammated rats.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the most dangerous human virus, the causative agent of HIV infection/AIDS, which is transmitted through direct contact of mucous membranes or blood with bodily fluid of the patient. During HIV infection, the same person develops new strains (varieties) of the virus, which are mutants, completely different in reproduction speed, capable of initiating and killing certain types of cells. Without medical intervention, the average life expectancy of a person infected with the immunodeficiency virus is 9–11 years. According to 2011 data, 60 million people have become infected with HIV throughout the world, of which 25 million have died, and 35 million continue to live with the virus.

Viruses. Surely you have heard this name many times, heard about the harm they pose to humans, heard about viral infections such as influenza, measles, smallpox, herpes, hepatitis, HIV... But what are viruses and why are they so dangerous?

All viruses are non-cellular organisms, that is, they do not have a cellular structure, and this is their main difference from other types of organisms.

The average size of viruses ranges from 20 to 300 nanometers, making them the smallest of all to which the word “living” can be applied. The average virus is about 100 times smaller than other pathogenic creatures, bacteria. The virus can only be seen with a sufficiently powerful electron microscope.

Once in the host cells, viruses begin to reproduce spontaneously, and the building material is the substance of the cell itself, which often leads to its death. This is why all viral infections are dangerous.

Interestingly, there are also beneficial viruses for humans, these are so-called bacteriophages that destroy harmful bacteria inside us.

How do viruses work?

The structure of viral particles is as simple as possible; in most cases they consist of only two components, less often - three:

genetic material in the form of DNA or RNA molecules is the actual basis of the virus, containing information for its reproduction;

capsid - a protein shell that separates and protects the genetic material from the external environment;

supercapsid - an additional lipid shell, which in some cases is formed from the membranes of donor cells.

Internal structure of a virus particle

What are viruses?

Based on their shape, all viruses can be divided into 4 large groups:

1. spiral
2. icosahedral and round
3. oblong
4. complex or incorrect

Typical forms of viruses

Viruses also spread in various ways, of which there are a huge number: through the air, through direct contact, through animal carriers, through blood, etc.