Virus
An invisible organism enters your body. It penetrates into your tissues and then takes over the machinery in your own cells to make more copies of itself. This tiny infiltrator works silently, producing thousands of these clones that fill up the cell and cause it to explode. The clones mercilessly continue the process of invading, taking over and destroying cells. The result might be a minor inconvenience to you as the host, or it could result in a slow or rapid death. It depends only on which variant of this unwanted infiltrator overcomes your body’s defenses. There are cures to wipe out some types of these invisible intruders, but others are so difficult to eradicate or so readily adaptable, that the world’s greatest scientists have failed to defeat them. This isn’t the beginning of a medical thriller; it is simply a description of the common viruses that surround and infect us every day.
From the common cold to cancers, viruses plague humans with disease and misery. Some of them, such as influenza, adapt and evolve as quickly as defenses are built against them. Some get into cells and start replication immediately. Others lie dormant like opportunistic predators until conditions are ripe for them to propagate. The herpes viruses can do this over and over again. They hide in nerve tissue until prompted to erupt leaving painful ulcers as host tissue is destroyed. Human papilloma virus—HPV--causes genital warts and predisposes its victims to cervical cancer. Likewise, hepatitis viruses, especially hepatitis C can leave a patient vulnerable to liver cancer. Other cancers in humans are also known to be caused by viruses. It is tempting to assign human traits to viruses thinking of them as contriving and evil. But, they...
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... enter your body. Some vaccines, such as those for polio, measles and smallpox have been highly effective in removing the causative pathogens from the population. Others viruses including HIV, influenza and those that cause the common cold, are able to change enough to evade recognition by the responding antibodies as to render current vaccines useless.
Anti-viral drugs search for and destroy viruses by recognizing unique components of the capsid or envelope. The herpes viruses can be somewhat controlled, but not eliminated in this manner. Infections are shorter, but the virus still lies in wait in the nerve cells to re-emerge on another day. HIV drug regimens have lengthened the life expectancy of patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus by suppressing multiplication inside the host.
Viruses prove that truth is stranger than (science) fiction.
By searching for the causative agent of infectious disease the focus can then be shifted into discovering preventative and treatment of the disease. Examples of this process are the outbreak of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). As published by McEwen & Wills (2011), BSE was identified as a protein transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated meat. Prevention and interventions were created as a result of the discovery of the protein. Comparably, AIDS, was first identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September of 1982, however, months passed before the causative agent was deemed a retrovirus later to be determined the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Even before the virus was isolated methods of transmission was recognized and interventions were acknowledged (McEwen & Wills, 2011).
Vaccines have been used to prevent diseases for centuries, and have saved countless lives of children and adults. The smallpox vaccine was invented as early as 1796, and since then the use of vaccines has continued to protect us from countless life threatening diseases such as polio, measles, and pertussis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) assures that vaccines are extensively tested by scientist to make sure they are effective and safe, and must receive the approval of the Food and Drug Administration before being used. “Perhaps the greatest success story in public health is the reduction of infectious diseases due to the use of vaccines” (CDC, 2010). Routine immunization has eliminated smallpox from the globe and led to the near removal of wild polio virus. Vaccines have reduced some preventable infectious diseases to an all-time low, and now few people experience the devastating effects of measles, pertussis, and other illnesses.
Disease has been known to humankind as the invisible killer for centuries. Plagues destroying towns, people dying for unexplainable reasons, and children dying all too soon. The miracle of modern medicine has permitted society to to have significant control over these terrifying invisible killer outbreaks. The vaccine is one of the greatest miracles of modern medicine. For example, the vaccine for the polio virus has virtually eliminated the incidences of polio in humans. “Vaccines represent a low-risk intervention administer according to a schedule in which there are currently no known acceptable alternatives.” (Opel et al. 2013). Vaccines protect the person who has been vaccinated from viruses and the more persons vaccinated the more
Editor Noel Merino of Should Vaccinations Be Mandatory? states that, “Vaccination is the process by which pathogenic cells are injected into a healthy person in an attempt to cause the body to develop antibodies to a particular virus or bacterium” (Merino 7). Once the antibodies
Our game, The Life of a Pathogen, is a board game in which the player’s goal is to reach the end of the game board with the most amount of people infected hence becoming an epidemic. The game will build your knowledge by testing you in the topics of vectors, the immune system, transmission, health organizations, diseases, and timeline. Therefore, it is intended to be played by those who have an understanding of these topics and is based off of the information we have learned in class.
Until the global outbreak of the Ebola virus in 2014, I heard of a real-life present-day killer virus. Of course, I learned about the Black Plague that occurred centuries ago killing millions of people. But in the modern day, no. It was horrifying. This paper will explore the origins, types, causes/effects, and what is being done to fight the spread of the Ebola virus – the Black Plague of 2014.
In the 1950s, a majority of the people were concerned about the things circulating in their everyday lives that they could not see: germs. These fragments of bacteria were intimidating and seemed impossible to stop. “The two most feared germs are bacteria (one-celled microorganisms) and viruses (ultramicroscopic or submicroscopic agents). During the decade, researchers made great strides in the understanding and control of these tiny enemies. In 1947, sixty viruses were thought to contribute to human disease; by 1959, seventy-six new ones had been identified.” (encyclopedia 3). As time went on, no one knew how to describe the fear they had acquired from the virus, as well as the sickness they had experienced.
The purpose of vaccinations is to help the immune system handle the illness without exposing to the illness first as “Vaccines contain the same antigens (or parts of antigens) that cause diseases…the antigens in vaccines are either killed, or weakened to the point that they don’t cause disease...immune system produce antibodies that lead to immunity”("Why Are Childhood Vaccines So Important?") This means that Vaccines have the same pieces of a regular disease but has been manipulated in some shape or form that cannot infect the vaccine receiver. Almost as if the body is exposed to the illness already, but not quite like having the body fight off the disease but rather receive the ability to fight contact with any disease they are vaccinated against. Without vaccination, some illnesses can be fought off with the immune system alone, such as chicken pox and measles, and then would have the immune system protect by using the to fight against it. However, there are more fatal diseases, such as Polio, that has the ability to paralyze the body of anyone infected and even cause death if not treated right away
Vaccination is widely considered one of the most successful medical attainments of modern civilization and a cost-effective public health tool. It prevents citizens from acquiring serious diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, and diphtheria. These diseases were common in children generations ago, but the mortality rate is decreasing now because of immunization. Moreover, smallpox was the critical disease until two centuries ago, where millions died from it every year. After the invention of vaccination for smallpox, it was wiped out. Vaccines are made from the same germ that causes diseases. For instance, the chickenpox vaccine is made from the chickenpox virus (“Vaccine”). However, the virus in the vaccine is killed, and it is introduced to the immune system through booster shots. The immune system responds to the vaccine same as the real disease by making antibodies. Hence, if a child is
According to the World Health Organization, HIV/AIDS is the leading infectious killer in the world with the death toll estimated around 36 million people (WHO, 2014). HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is very different from other communicable disease because the virus takes over cells in the body and weakens the immune system. It does that by destroying healthy, important cells that fight off disease and infection. The reason your immune system cannot fight this virus is still a question many scientists are seeking to answer, (AIDS, 2014). Scientists know that HIV is capable of being undetected in the cells of our bodies for long periods of time. The HIV virus invades our T cells, which are in charge of cellular immunity, and is able to duplicate itself in these cells and then destroy them. When too many T cells become destroyed the body is unable to fight off this virus, which leads to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS, (AIDS, 2014).
Virus- An infectious agent found in virtually all life forms, including humans, animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Viruses touch us every day through water, food, physical contact, blood, animals, or even, the air you breathe. All though most are harmless there are some that...
Vaccines can be defined as a substance that provides immunity against diseases by stimulating the production of antibodies. Vaccines are made from the causative agent, in other words, the same virus that causes the illness is used, but it is weakened and treated to act as an antigen without causing harm to the body. When vaccines enter the body, the immune system remembers the virus. Therefore, if that same virus entered the body, the immune system would have already developed antibodies against the virus and would be able to fight off the disease. Vaccinations generally protect the body from diseases that may cause disabilities or fatality.
Most of us swap disks with friends and browse the Net looking for downloads. Rarely do we ever consider that we are also exchanging files with anyone and everyone who has ever handled them in the past. If that sounds like a warning about social diseases, its right along the same lines. Computer viruses are every bit as harmful and destructive, and come in a vast variety of types and strains. Computer viruses, can tear up your hard drive and bring down your system. However, unlike social diseases, computer viruses are almost always curable, and the cures for new strains are usually a matter of days away, rather than months or years.
Vaccines are causing serious threat to the people, especially to the children. Doctors proved that vaccines will reduce immunity of the person. Actually the vaccines fluid which is injected into the person’s body develops anti-bodies to virus. And the anti-bodies last for the period of time; it may be a year or a year and half. During this period, if the disease virus enters the body then the anti- bodies will
A computer virus is a relatively small program that attaches itself to data and program files before it delivers its malicious act. There are many distinct types of viruses and each one has a unique characteristic. Viruses are broken up into to main classes, file infectors and system or boot-record infectors.