A Brief Look At The Immune System And The Human Immunodeficiency Virus

A virus is an unicellular malicious agent that is capable of replicating within a single host organism. Viruses can invade various types of living organisms, such as plants, animals, and bacteria. They have a simple biological structure, which makes them so small that even a microscope can not view them. They can survive in a variety of environments and usually reproduce by means of a mutation. When a virus replicates, it takes over the same DNA information from its host organism that it was originally copied to. Thus, when viruses mutate, they change the coding sequence of their virus.

Some types of viruses cause serious health problems and sometimes lead to death. Some viruses can cause chickenpox, shingles, Epstein-Barr, viral meningitis, viral gastroenteritis, and herpes. These are just a few of the most common types of viruses that can be spread via contact with bodily fluids or a lesion on the body.

Viruses are also responsible for generating cellular abnormalities that sometimes result in cancer. Most of these types of cellular abnormalities are caused by viral replication within the host cell. For example, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) causes vaginal tumors. In order for HPV to cause this disease, it must infect the cells of the vagina. If the virus were to act on another part of the body, the host cell would become sick, but since HPV is a cellular virus, it cannot do that.

The envelopes of viruses are made up of DNA (genetic material). This DNA is enclosed in what are called capsids, which are protein molecules. Envelopes of viruses can be single genes, multiple genes, or a mix of single and multiple genes. Single genes are packaged together inside an envelope that has only a single tail. Multiple genes are packaged together and wrapped around an envelope that has two tails.

While some viruses can be single genes, others can be multi-gene viruses. A good example is the common cold. When someone gets a cold, their body’s immune system attacks their cells for viral infections. The body’s white blood cells then engulf the viral envelopes that are present, killing off the virus that was in the cells. However, if the person were to ingest a virus that duplicates itself many times, their bodies’ white blood cells might attack their own cells for additional copies, making them sick even though the cold was being kept at bay by their immune system.

To prevent an illness caused by a virus, there are precautions that you can take. To avoid a common cold from being passed on from one person to another, wear a mask if you are going to be engaging in a common activity like handball or sports. Keep your hands clean at all times. For athletes, wash them before and after matches to keep them free of the common cold. If you are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, you should visit a doctor immediately to learn more about preventing an illness from affecting your body.