dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Social Links
  • zedreviews.com
  • citi.io
  • aster.cloud
  • liwaiwai.com
  • guzz.co.uk
  • atinatin.com
0 Likes
0 Followers
0 Subscribers
dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
  • Society

What Are Viruses Anyway, And Why Do They Make Us So Sick? 5 Questions Answered

  • February 28, 2020
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

You may sometimes have felt like you “have come down with a virus,” meaning that you became sick from being exposed to something that could have been a virus. In fact, you have a virus – actually, many – all the time. Some viruses cause the common cold, and some are crucial to human survival. New viruses can also emerge, and they typically create illness in humans when they have very recently jumped from another species to humans. As world health leaders try to determine how to respond to the new coronavirus, virus expert Marilyn J. Roossinck answers a few questions.

Patients infected with COVID-19 rest at a temporary hospital in Wuhan, China, Feb. 17, 2020. Getty Images/Xiao Yijiu

1. What is a virus?

Defining a virus has been a challenge because every time we come up with a good definition someone discovers a virus that breaks the rules. Viruses are entities that infect cellular life. They are very diverse. The simplest just have a couple of genes made of RNA or DNA wrapped up in a protein coat. Others have hundreds of genes, more than some bacteria.

All viruses are ultimately parasites. They require a host for replication. They cannot generate their own energy like cells can.

2. Why does a virus make people sick?

When a new human virus disease appears, it is most often because the virus has jumped from a different species into humans. The worst viruses are often the ones that have very recently jumped into the species.

After jumping species, the virus goes through a process of adjustment to its new host. The real challenge, however, is to the host. As it tries to figure out how to adjust to an invasion from something completely new, the immune system overreacts. This is what makes the host sick. It usually isn’t an advantage for the virus to make people sick; it is an accident of the hosts’ immune system overreacting to something it doesn’t recognize.

Viruses that have been in a host for a long time are less likely to cause disease. For example, HIV jumped into humans from wild primates, in whose bodies it wasn’t causing any disease.

Every virus-host relationship is different. In most cases, viruses do not cause any disease, and many are beneficial. For example, in mice a herpes virus prevents infection from the plague bacteria.

3. Why is it so important to know the original source?

If the virus comes from an animal, knowing what that animal is can help break the chain of infection. Knowing the source also helps scientists understand mutations that might have occurred in the virus’ genome. That’s because host-jumping affects the variation in a virus genome. When a virus has been in its host for a long time, the genome is fine-tuned to that host, and mutations are not tolerated.

Students in Bangladesh are shown wearing masks Jan. 29, 2020, in an effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. Experts are divided on whether wearing masks makes a difference, but most agree that hand-washing is imperative. Getty Images/Mehedi Hasan/NurPhoto

4. SARS was a formidable foe, and then seemed to disappear. Why?

Measures to contain SARS started early, and they were very successful. The key is to stop the chain of transmission by isolating infected individuals. SARS had a short incubation period; people generally showed symptoms in two to seven days. There were no documented cases of anyone being a source of SARS without showing symptoms.

Stopping the chain of transmission is much more difficult when the incubation time is much longer, or when some people don’t get symptoms at all. This may be the case with the virus causing CoVID-19, so stopping it may take more time.

5. What is the best way to treat viruses?

Viruses don’t respond to antibiotics, and in some cases taking antibiotics can make things worse, because the normal bacteria in the gut are an important part of the immune response. Antiviral drugs can work with some viruses, but the mutation rate of most viruses means that they become resistant to antivirals very quickly.

The best treatment is to give the patient the best tools to allow their own body to fight off the infection. This usually means rest and keeping hydrated. Virus infection can suppress the immune system, so patients should be monitored for secondary infections that might require other treatments. Prevention is important. Sick people need to be isolated, and healthy people need to take precautions.

Most respiratory viruses are not transmitted just by breathing them in from sick people, but by getting them on your hands from tiny droplets that sick people distribute by coughing or sneezing, and then touching your face. Good hand-washing is important!

The Conversation

Marilyn J. Roossinck, Professor of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, Pennsylvania State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Total
0
Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Share
Related Topics
  • Antiviral Drugs
  • Coronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • SARS
  • Virus
majulah

Previous Article
  • Cities

Inversion Solutions — Tackling Utah’s Pollution Problem

  • February 28, 2020
View Post
Next Article
  • Environment
  • People

What Are Viruses Anyway, And Why Do They Make Us So Sick? 5 Questions Answered

  • February 28, 2020
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Cities
  • Lah!
  • Society

NUS Computing Establishes Sea Olympiad Scholarship To Attract And Nurture Top Talents In Computer Studies

  • dotlah.com
  • February 27, 2022
View Post
  • Cities
  • Lah!
  • Society

Joint Study: Diverse Leadership Brings Better Firm Performance

  • dotlah.com
  • February 23, 2022
View Post
  • Lah!
  • Society

Community And Mentorship Help Women Entrepreneurs Thrive

  • dotlah.com
  • November 23, 2021
View Post
  • Lah!
  • Society

ST Engineering Champions Employee Wellness, Raises Funds For Charity And Launches Women Support Group

  • dotlah.com
  • November 14, 2021
View Post
  • Lah!
  • Society

NUS Honours 40 Alumni For Outstanding Contributions To Alma Mater And Society

  • dotlah.com
  • November 7, 2021
View Post
  • Cities
  • Lah!
  • Society

The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Made Many Singaporeans Adopt Better Financial Habits

  • dotlah.com
  • November 3, 2021
View Post
  • Lah!
  • Society

A Cleaning Revolution: How JCS-Echigo Partnered A*STAR To Clean Faster And Smarter

  • dotlah.com
  • October 16, 2021
View Post
  • Lah!
  • Society

Singapore 100 Women In Tech 2021

  • dotlah.com
  • October 16, 2021


Trending
  • 1
    • Lah!
    DBS Partners Food Bank To Better Address Food Gaps For The Vulnerable Through Singapore’s First Virtual Food Banking App
    • June 6, 2020
  • 2
    • Lah!
    New Study Claims Racial And Religious Harmony Is Flourishing In Singapore
    • August 12, 2019
  • 3
    • Technology
    Google Pixel 3a: The Phone That Gets It Done
    • May 16, 2019
  • mothers-day-ijaz-rafi-xLA0XpFpe0U-unsplash 4
    • Features
    • People
    Celebrating Mother’s Day with Love and Simplicity: Budget-Friendly Ideas to Cherish Mom
    • May 14, 2023
  • facemask-5111878_1280 5
    • People
    • World Events
    Experts: A Mask Cuts Your Coronavirus Risk By 65%
    • March 4, 2021
  • 6
    • Lah!
    NUS Law Launches New Centre for Technology, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & the Law
    • December 12, 2019
  • host-countries-of-afghan-refugees-25559 7
    • People
    Where Afghan Refugees Are Located
    • August 19, 2021
  • 8
    • Society
    Here’s Why The WHO Says A Coronavirus Vaccine Is 18 Months Away
    • February 15, 2020
  • 9
    • Lah!
    ​Mangroves At Risk If Carbon Emissions Not Reduced By 2050, International Scientists Predict
    • June 7, 2020
  • 10
    • Lah!
    Gov.sg Launches New Channels To Keep The Public Informed About COVID-19
    • April 4, 2020
  • 11
    • Science
    Viral Vaccines Simplified: How Are They Made?
    • April 28, 2020
  • 12
    • Lah!
    Singapore’s PayNow And Malaysia’s DuitNow To Link In 2022
    • September 28, 2021
Trending
  • 1
    The Summer Adventures : Hiking and Nature Walks Essentials
    • June 3, 2025
  • 2
    Trump’s global trade plans are in disarray, after a US court ruling on ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs
    • May 29, 2025
  • 3
    315,000 Singaporeans have used new career and skills planning tool by SkillsFuture Singapore
    • May 23, 2025
  • college-of-cardinals-2025 4
    The Definitive Who’s Who of the 2025 Papal Conclave
    • May 8, 2025
  • conclave-poster-black-smoke 5
    The World Is Revalidating Itself
    • May 7, 2025
  • oracle-ibm 6
    IBM and Oracle Expand Partnership to Advance Agentic AI and Hybrid Cloud
    • May 6, 2025
  • 7
    Conclave: How A New Pope Is Chosen
    • April 25, 2025
  • 8
    Canonical Releases Ubuntu 25.04 Plucky Puffin
    • April 17, 2025
  • 9
    Mathematicians uncover the logic behind how people walk in crowds
    • April 3, 2025
  • 10
    Tokyo Electron and IBM Renew Collaboration for Advanced Semiconductor Technology
    • April 2, 2025
Social Links
dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Connecting Dots Across Asia's Tech and Urban Landscape

Input your search keywords and press Enter.