The Faculty of Medicinee preparation

Date:

25/12/2022 1/Jumada II/1444 AH

WRITTEN BY :

Abdulaziz Mohammed Hussian Abodthhair .

Under supervision of teacher:

AMNA MIFTAH.

The research about:

The viruses and some viral diseases.

 Contents :

1. Introduction and definitions.

2. Discovering of viruses.

3. Viruses are not living organisms.

4. Structure .

5. Different between bacteria and virus .

6. Nature of virus work .

7. Some Viral diseases .

 8. Protective measures .

9. References .

Introduction and definitions:

In this article I had written about viruses and some viral diseases because in this life today we
listened to some viruses that cause vary problems to humans so from that I had loved to talk
in this important topic.

Some definition:

Viruses are the smallest parasites, typically ranging from 0.02 to 0.3 micrometer, although
several very large viruses up to 1 micrometer long (megavirus, pandoravirus) have recently
been discovered.

Other definition Viruses are microscopic infectious agents that contain genetic material,
either DNA or RNA, and must invade a host in order to multiply.

viruses are known for causing disease, as they've triggered widespread outbreaks of illness
and death throughout human history. Recent examples of virus-driven outbreaks include
the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the 2009 swine flu pandemic and the COVID-19
pandemic, which was caused by a coronavirus first identified in late 2019.

HOW WERE VIRUSES DISCOVERED?

In an 1886 research paper titled "Concerning the Mosaic Disease of Tobacco," Adolf
Mayer, a German chemist and agricultural researcher, published the results of his
extensive experiments on tobacco plants affected by the disease, which caused the
plants' leaves to break out in dark green, yellow and gray splotches. Mayer found
that, when he crushed up infected tobacco leaves and injected the resulting juice
into the veins of healthy leaves, the once-healthy leaves developed the speckling
and discoloration characteristic of the diseased plants. Mayer correctly surmised
that whatever was causing tobacco mosaic disease was in the leafy juice.

However, more concrete results eluded him. Based on the previous work of
German physician Robert Koch, who discovered the bacteria that causes tuberculosis,
Mayer thought he should be able to isolate and grow the pathogen behind tobacco
mosaic disease in lab dishes. However, he was unable to isolate the disease-
causing agent or identify it under a microscope. Nor could he recreate the disease by
injecting healthy plants with a range of known bacteria, according to Smithsonian
Magazine.
In 1892, a Russian student named Dmitri Ivanovsky (sometimes written as
Ivanowski) essentially repeated Mayer’s juicing experiments but with a bit of a twist.

The experiments of Mayer, Ivanovsky, Beijerinck and others that followed only pointed to the
existence of viruses; it would take a few more decades before anyone actually saw a virus.

In 1935, chemist Wendell M. Stanley crystallized a sample of the tobacco mosaic virus such
that the pathogen could be seen on X-ray, according to Smithsonian Magazine. However, it
wasn't until 1939 that the first clear snapshots of the unaltered virus could be captured.
This feat was made possible by the invention of the electron microscope, an instrument
that uses beams of negatively charged particles to produce images of extremely small
objects, according to a 2009 article published in the journal Clinical Microbiology Reviews

ARE VIRUSES ALIVE?

Viruses teeter on the boundaries of what is considered life. On one hand, viruses contain
either DNA or RNA, the nucleic acids found in all living organisms. On the other hand,
viruses lack the capacity to independently read and act upon the information contained
within those nucleic acids; for this reason, viruses aren't considered "alive."

HOW ARE VIRUSES STRUCTURED?

When a virus is completely assembled and capable of infection, it is known as a virions.

According to "Medical Microbiology(opens in new tab)" (University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston, 1996), simple virions contain an inner nucleic acid core surrounded by an outer
casing of proteins known as the capsid. Capsids protect viral nucleic acids from being
chewed up and destroyed by special enzymes in the host cell called nucleases.

Some viruses have a second protective layer known as the envelope. This layer is
usually derived from the cell membrane of a host; little stolen bits that are modified
and repurposed for the virus to use.

The DNA or RNA found in the inner core constitutes the virus's genome, or the sum
total of its genetic information. Viral genomes are generally small in size, coding
only for essential proteins such as capsid proteins, enzymes and proteins necessary
for replication within a host cell.

Basic structure;

 Protective protein shell or capsid

 Nucleic acid genome made of DNA or RNA trucked inside of capsid
 Layer of membrane called the envelope (some but not all virus).

Capsid come in many forms but they often take one of the following shapes :

1. Icosahedral
2. Filamentous
 3. Head-tail

How are viruses different from bacteria: even though they can both make us
sick bacteria and virus are very different at the biological levels bacteria are small
and single celled organisms but are living organisms that don’t depend on host cell
to reproduce. Because of these differences between bacterial and viral infections
are treated very differently . For instance antibiotics are only helpful for against
bacteria not virus, bacteria also are bigger than virus.

However, giant virus genomes can be much, much larger than those of typical viruses. For
example, APMV carries approximately 1.2 million base pairs in its genome, where each
"base pair" is one rung in the twisted ladder of DNA. The poliovirus genome, by
comparison, is only 7,500 nucleotides long and the smallpox virus genome is 200,000
nucleotides long, according to the Nature Education report

HOW DO VIRUSES WORK?

virus requires a host cell to replicate, or make more copies of itself, said Jaquelin
Dudley, a professor of molecular biosciences at the University of Texas at Austin.
"The virus cannot reproduce itself outside the host because it lacks the complicated
machinery that a [host] cell possesses," she told Live Science. The host cell's cellular
machinery allows viruses to produce RNA from their DNA (a process called
transcription) and to build proteins based on the instructions encoded in their RNA
(a process called translation).

Therefore, the primary role of a virus is to "deliver its DNA or RNA genome into the
host cell so that the genome can be expressed (transcribed and translated) by the
host cell," according to "Medical Microbiology."

First, viruses break into the host cell, which may be part of a larger organism, in the case of
animals and humans. Respiratory passages and open wounds can act as gateways for
viruses into the body. And sometimes, insects provide the mode of entry; certain viruses
will hitch a ride in an insect’s saliva and enter the host’s body after the insect bites.
According to "Molecular Biology of the Cell"(opens in new tab) (Garland Science, 2002), such
viruses can replicate inside both insect and host cells, ensuring a smooth transition from
one to the other. Examples of such pathogens include the viruses that cause yellow
fever(opens in new tab) and dengue fever

Once inside an organism, viruses will then attach themselves to the surface of host cells.
They do so by recognizing and binding to cell surface receptors, or proteins that stick off
the cell surface; proteins on the viral surface fit onto these receptors like interlocking
puzzle pieces. Many different viruses can bind to the same receptor and a single virus can
bind different cell surface receptors. While viruses use them to their advantage, cell surface
receptors are actually designed to serve the cell.

After a virus binds to the surface of the host cell, it can start to move across the outer
covering or membrane of the host cell. There are many different modes of entry. HIV, a
virus with an envelope, fuses with the host cell membrane and is pushed through. Another
enveloped virus, the influenza virus, is engulfed by the cell. Some non-enveloped viruses,
such as the poliovirus, create a porous channel of entry and burrow through the
membrane, according to "Molecular Biology of the Cell.

Once inside the host cell, viruses disrupt or hijack various parts of the cellular machinery
inside. Viral genomes direct host cells to produce viral proteins, and this often halts the
synthesis of any RNA and proteins that the host cell can use for its own purposes.

Viral disease definition

A viral disease is any illness or health condition caused by a virus. Read on to
learn more about some of the main types of viral diseases:
Not all viral diseases are contagious. This means they aren’t always spread from
person to person. But many of them are. Common examples of contagious viral
diseases include the flu, the common cold, HIV, and herpes.

Other types of viral diseases spread through other means, such as the bite of an
infected insect.

For a typical virus a lifecycle can be divided into six broad steps :

1. Attachment.
2. Penetration.
3. Uncoating.
4. gene expression and replication.
5. assembly.
6. release.

In this picture they are detailed some steps from six steps to ten.
 1.Respiratory viral diseases:

are contagious and commonly affect the upper or lower parts of your respiratory
tract.

Common symptoms of a respiratory viral disease include:

 runny or stuffy nose

 coughing or sneezing
 fever
 body aches

Examples of respiratory diseases include:

 flu
 common cold
 respiratory syncytial virus infection
 adenovirus infection
 parainfluenza virus infection
 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

2.Gastrointestinal viral diseases:

Gastrointestinal viral diseases affect your digestive tract. The viruses that cause
them are contagious and usually lead to a condition called gastroenteritis, also
called the stomach flu.

Common symptoms of gastrointestinal viral diseases include:

 abdominal cramps

 diarrhea , vomiting
Examples

Examples of gastrointestinal viral diseases include:

 norovirus infection
 rotavirus infection

some adenovirus infections

 astrovirus infection

3.Exanthematous viruses:

cause skin rashes. Many of them cause additional symptoms as well.

Many of the viruses in this category, such as the measles virus, are highly
contagious.

Examples

Examples of exanthematous viral diseases include:

 measles
 rubella
 chickenpox/shingles
 roseola
 smallpox
 fifth disease
 chikungunya virus infection

3.The hepatic viral diseases:

The hepatic viral diseases cause inflammation of the liver, known as viral
hepatitis. The types of viral hepatitis are hepatitis A, B, and C.

It is worth noting that diseases caused by other viruses, such as cytomegalovirus

and the yellow fever virus, can also affect the liver.

Examples

Examples of hepatic viral diseases include:

 hepatitis A
 hepatitis B
 hepatitis C
 hepatitis D
 Hepatitis E
Protective measures

Many viral infections can be prevented by commonsense protective

measures (which vary depending on the transmission mode of a given
agent).

Important measures include:

 Hand washing
 Appropriate food preparation and water treatment
 Avoidance of contact with sick people
 Safe-sex practices
 Mask wearing; physical distancing when appropriate (eg, for
COVID-19 prevention)

For infections with an insect vector (eg, mosquitoes, ticks), avoiding the
vector is important
 Conclusion about some viral diseases :

There are many viral diseases. Some, such as the common cold or the stomach
flu, are minor and go away on their own within a few days. Others, however, are
more serious.

Unlike bacterial infections, viral diseases don’t respond to antibiotics. Instead,

treatment usually focuses on managing symptoms and supporting the immune
system with plenty of rest and hydration.

Reference

Medically reviewed
Viral diseases medically reviewed by Daniel Murrell, M.D. — By Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D.

https://www.livescience.com/author/aparna-vidyasagar

https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/authors/kramer-laura

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.khanacademy.org/
science/biology/biology-of-viruses/virus-biology/a/intro-to-
viruses&ved=2ahUKEwjdvtOinI78AhWMhP0HHaSWCmkQFnoECA0QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1AaTnMJ8D8W
rkMcA2Dz539