LECTURE 7 : (+) ssRNA viruses

A) INTRODUCTION + SSRNA
▪ contains viruses with ssRNA genomes of the same (positive) sense as mRNA and can be translated.
▪ Synthesis of a complementary strand, generating a dsRNA intermediate → precedes synthesis of mRNA.
As with class 3 viruses
▪ the RNA synthesis must be carried out using virus-encoded enzymes, although these are not carried in
the virus particle.
B) FAMILY : PICORNAVIRIDAE (PICORNAVIRUS)
1) Intro
• Found in mammal and bird
• The first virus molecules to be synthesized in an infected cell are therefore proteins, in contrast to all
other viruses, where transcription of virus genes must occur before virus protein synthesis can
start.
• Example of virus picornaviruses
Genus Members
Hepatovirus Hepatitis A virus
Entero Virus Polio virus / coxsackie virus
Rhinovirus Common cold
Apthovirus Foot and mouth disease virus

2) Hepatitis A
• Poor sanitation – asymptomatic / mild infection – infant and young children
• Lead to lifelong immunity – adult 75% develop jaundice
3) Polio virus (enterovirus)
• Initial infection site: oropharyngeal tract and gut
• Causes viremia and spread to CNS (meningititis / encephalitis and poliomyelitis)
➢ CNS: latter is due to virus replication in motor neurones of the spinal cord or the brain stem,
resulting in paralysis of limbs and/or breathing muscles
• Prevention: live attenuated (sabin) and killed vaccine (salk)
4) Coxsackievirus (enterovirus)
• Highly contagious and lesion in skeletal muscle
• Myocarditis – meningitis – rashes
5) Enterovirus (EV) 70 and 71
• Paralysis, acute hemorrhagic fever and hand-foot-mouth disease
6) Rhinoviruses
• Upper respiratory tract infection. Children have at least one rhinovirus infection at the age of 2 years,
account for 70% of common cold in adults.
• Rhinoviruses replicate in the epithelium of the upper respiratory tract, where the temperature is
around 33–35◦C
7) Foot and mouth disease virus
• Infects mammals eg. cattles, sheep, goats and pigs.
• Lesion in the mouth and on the feet. Causes severe economic loss (massive animal culling & milk
yield drop)
8) PICORNAVIRUS HIJACK HOST SYSTEM
• For a successful virus replication, picornaviruses:
• Inhibit host RNA polymerase activities, thus terminating transcription. ( tak perlu tuka kepada rna
sebab dh rna)
• synthesize proteases to cleave host translation initiation factor, thus inhibiting host protein translation
(the virus protein translation is not affected because viral mRNA is not CAPPED!)
• virus receptors located in pockets on the capsid which are hardly detected by antibodies (immune
escape
9) Picornavirus replication
• Translation occurs before transcription. → hasil protein acts as RNDP
• RNA replication takes place on membranes.
• The processes of transcription and genome replication are one and the same, resulting in the
production of (+) RNA.
• (+) RNA has three functions:
- templates for (–) RNA synthesis
- mRNA
- genomes of progeny virions
• There must be mechanisms to ensure that a (+) RNA molecule engaged in one of these activities is
precluded from commencing either of the other two.
C) Family : FLAVIVIRIDAE
a) West Nile virus
• transmitted to humans by mosquitoes.
• No specific medications or vaccines but infection by WNV is frequently asymptomatic or mild.
• Symptoms: headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Sometimes, although
rarely, fatal, neurologic illness.
• first isolated from the blood of a woman in the West Nile region of Uganda.
• 1st infections of humans and animals with WNV are asymptomatic, but about 20 per cent of human
infections result in signs and symptoms such as fever and aching muscles
b) Hepatitis C
• Acute illness patients recover with no lasting liver damage.
• 60%–70% of chronically infected persons develop chronic liver disease.
• Commonly associated with HBV infection. –
• Transmitted through infected blood (sharing needles and syringes, sexual contact and vertically).
• Symptoms: Fever, Fatigue, Loss of appetite, Nausea, Vomiting, Abdominal pain, Gray-colored
bowel movements, Joint pain, Jaundice.
c) Dengue virus
• Dengue fever (DF) is caused by any of four dengue serotypes: dengue 1-4.
• Infection with one serotype does not protect against the others, and sequential infections put people
at greater risk for dengue hemorraghic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).
• mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.
• Symptoms of infection usually begin 4 - 7 days after the mosquito bite and typically last 3 - 10 days.
• In order for transmission to occur the mosquito must feed on a person during a 5-day period when
large amounts of virus are in the blood; this period usually begins a little before the person become
symptomatic.
• In the blood meal, the virus will require an additional 8-12 days incubation before it can then be
transmitted to another human.
• Dengue
- Symptomatic – viral syndrome – dengue fever syndrome – dengue hemorrhagic fever
D) CORONAVIRIDAE
• Members: SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)-CoV, MERS (Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome)-CoV.
• Zoonoses (SARS-CoV – civets, MERS-CoV – camels).
• SARS-CoV in Asia in February 2003 and spread to North America, South America and Europe.
MERS-CoV first identified in 2012 with mortality rate of 35%.
• Symptoms: high fever (>38.0°C), headache, body aches. 10 to 20% of patients experience diarrhea.
Dry cough (2-7 days) and pneumonia.
• Spread by very close person-to-person contact – air coughing sneezing
E) TOGAVIRIDAE
• Rubella virus (German measles) - unvaccinated children and young adults.
• serious consequences in pregnant women, including miscarriages, fetal deaths, still births, and
having infants born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) includes blindness, deafness, and
heart defects.
• Spread by coughing and sneezing.
• Preventable by vaccination [measles-rubella (MR) vaccine, or combined with vaccines against
mumps (MMR) and varicella (chickenpox) (MMRV)].