Pathogenic viruses

• Viruses are one of the pathogenic organisms, but they are

considered a link between inanimate objects and living
creatures. Viruses can only reproduce inside a living cell,
whether a human, animal or plant cell. They aren't vital
outside the cells of living things and are so small that they
cannot be seen with optical microscopy.

• There are two types of viruses:-

1. Viruses whose genetic content is DNA.

2. Viruses whose genetic content is RNA.

• DNA is surrounded by a protein sheath and a fatty sheath to

protect it while the virus is present outside the living cells.
• Viruses are the simplest of living creatures in composition.

• But how was the virus first discovered ?

• Adolf Meyer, a German chemist and agricultural researcher,

published a research in 1886 on a disease that affects tobacco
when Meyer crushed the leaves of an infected plant and
injected harmful juice into the veins of the leaves of an
uninfected tobacco plant. This resulted in a yellow color
appearing on the uninfected leaves and Meyer believed that
everything that causes the disease it was of bacterial origin,
 but he was unable to isolate the disease causing agent or
identify it under a microscope.

• In 1892, a Russian student named Dmitry Ivanovsky repeated

Meyer's experiments, but he did a few analyzes, and Dmitry
used in his experiment a filter called Chamberland which is a
filter whose holes are small enough to prevent the passage of
bacteria and other microorganisms, and despite this, the
scientist could not separate the pathogen from the liquid and
discovered The cause of the disease was very small and he
managed to pass through the filter. The scientist said in his
article that was published in 1972 that the cause of the disease
is a type of bacteria. In 1898 a Dutch scientist called Martinus
Brink managed to prove that the cause of the disease was not
the bacteria but the virus.

• Virus properties:-

1. The virus is not considered a cell, as it does not contain the

cytoplasm and other organelles.

2. Viruses do not respond to external stimuli.

3. Viruses do not perform vital activities like other organisms.

4. Viruses do not self-reproduce.

5. Viruses are naturally present in the form of crystals outside
living organisms and start their activities after they enter a
living cell.

6. Viruses are capable of producing new strains.

7. Viruses are not affected by antibiotics.

8. Viruses die at high temperatures.

9. Viruses are very accurate and selective, as each type of virus

specializes in specific cells.

• Viruses are transmitted by air or by touch, and some viruses

are transmitted through sexual contact or exchange of
contaminated syringes or by insects such as mosquitoes or
through contaminated food and contaminated water.

• Now , we will talk about Viruses whose genetic content is

DNA:-

• One of these viruses is the virus that causes smallpox, which

is an infectious disease that appears in the form of pimples
and small scars spread on the skin of the infected person.
When contacting an infected person and a uninfected person,
the infection is transmitted quickly When using the affected
person's tools.
• The virus spreads slowly on human skin and is considered a
disease of smallpox in ancient times, among the chronic and
deadly diseases that lead to the death of those infected with
it.

• General symptoms of smallpox usually appear 12 to 14 days

after the infection, and Its symptoms are similar to flu
symptoms , The symptoms are fever, discomfort in general,
headache, severe fatigue, severe backache, vomiting, and
abdominal pain, and after a few days, flat red spots appear
first on the face and hands, and after a day or two Many spots
turn into small blisters filled with transparent liquids.

• After 8 or 9 days, scabs begin to form and then fall off, leaving
deep scars.

• The virus that causes smallpox is called variola, which is a

relatively large virus (one of the largest viruses). This virus
causes blood poisoning, which leads to the death of infected
people.

• There are two different strains of the Variola virus:-

1. Variola major
2. Variola minor
• Variola major is the most serious form of the disease, while
variola minor is the least dangerous form of the disease.

• The virus passes through the air and spreads very quickly
through coughing, sneezing, or direct contact with any bodily
fluids that can spread the virus. In addition, sharing
contaminated clothing or bedding can transmit the infection.

• Despite the end of this disease for years, the world is afraid
that this disease will return again to chase us in the form of
biological weapons. If this virus spreads again, it will spread
very quickly.

• There is no specific treatment for smallpox, but some

ointments are used to relieve pimples and the treatment was
focused on relieving symptoms and preventing dehydration.

• .Smallpox can be prevented through the vaccine. If the

vaccine was obtained before contact with the disease, the
vaccine can protect the person against the disease.

• If the disease spreads, the infected must be isolated, in order

to control the spread of the virus, and people who have had
contact with a person should get a smallpox vaccine that can
prevent or reduce the severity of the disease if it is obtained
within four days of exposure to the virus.
• The vaccine against smallpox is not available to the general
public at the present time because of the success in
completely eliminating the disease and the absence of the
virus. However, there is sufficient stock to vaccinate people
when the disease spreads again.

• Now I will talk about another virus, which is the herpes

virus:-

• Herpes is one of the diseases that affects many people around

the world. Statistics announced by CDC centers show that
48% of the population of the United States is infected with the
herpes virus (HSV-1), which also affects more than 80% of the
world’s population. According to the statistics of the World
Health Organization, 7 billion people under the age of fifty are
infected with the herpes virus (HSV-1) and 417 million ages
between 15 to 49 years are infected with the herpes virus
(HSV-2), and the reason for this is that once a person has any
type From the herpes virus remains in his body throughout
his life and can not get rid of it without visible symptoms can
be observed It is a problem because the virus could be
transmitted to a healthy person by dealing with direct with an
infected person.

• The herpes virus (HSV-1) is the most prevalent type that

affects the oral region, while the second type (HSV-2) infects
genital places and its prevalence rate is less than the first type,
it is about 16% of the population of the United States of
 America infected with this virus and their ages between 14 For
49 years now, there is no vaccine or treatment that will fully
recover from the virus.

• The herpes virus lives in the nerve cell. When the virus attacks
the nerve cell, it compresses and twists the genetic material
(DNA) and uses its protein (histone) inside it in the chromatin
fibers. After that, the virus enters a state of stability and
dormancy within the neurons. The immune cells cannot deal
with the virus as a foreign body, but in some cases the neuron
cannot completely encapsulate the genetic material of the
virus, and the chromatin is not strongly coherent, leaving part
of it free and exposed to the cell’s chemistry. This allows
genes in this part of the genetic material of the virus to be
active, to break the silence of the virus, to start replicating,
getting into infection, and ultimately killing the cell. As a result,
symptoms of herpes appear.

• Herpes appears as red blisters on the external places of the

mouth or on the genitals, especially the vagina, cervix, and
anus. As a result, vaginal discharge increases, the patient
feels pain, swelling of the lymph nodes occurs, the patient
feels pain when urinating, and a high temperature occurs and
in later stages of the infection, inflammation occurs in The
cornea of the eye, or it is possible for the patient to develop
meningitis, and the virus is transmitted through the skin of the
infected and transmitted easily by wet skin in the mouth, eye,
anus, or genitals during sexual intercourse.
• In a recent study conducted by researchers from the Berlin
Institute for Medical Systems in Germany, the researchers
predicted how the virus will develop in the cells of infected
people, and its findings were published in the journal Nature
Communication in October 2019.

• Scientists used the technique to detect the genetic sequence

of RNA in 12 thousand cases infected with the herpes virus,
and through the results obtained, the research team was able
to explain the differences between the genetic sequence in the
cells, so it was revealed the presence of a transcription factor
that contains a protein called NRF2, which plays the key when
it is active. It causes inhibition of disease progression and
also inhibits genes in special places on the DNA of the virus,
where it works to decode the information of the genetic
content and by measuring the activity rate of transcription
factor NRF2 can be used as one of the anti-virus treatments.

• The researchers were also able to discover two stimuli that

affect NRF2 called the first of the methyl pardoxlone , It's one
of the drugs that was created to treat chronic kidney infections
and the second called sulforafane, both of which stop the
replication of the herpes virus in cells, and this confirms the
role of the NRF2 transcription factor in fighting the virus.

• In another study, researchers from the University of cornell in

New York City, USA, discovered the reason why the genes of
 the inactive herpes virus were active and working again, as
the research team focused on the genes of the virus that
control the initiation of viral activity and other genes that stop
the activity and make it idle. To find antivirals to treat and
eliminate herpesvirus by controlling the genes of the virus.

• Now I will talk about the RNA content virus, which is the
human immunodeficiency virus, and this virus is the one
that causes AIDS, which is scientifically known to have
acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

• AIDS is a virus that affects the immune system, and this

disease requires a period of 2 to 15 years from the moment of
infection with the virus until it appears, as it is the last stage of
the infection with this virus.

• According to the World Health Organization, AIDS appears to

destroy the immune system very badly , which makes the
affected person vulnerable to suffering from all types of
infections and many cancer. In fact, the virus is still a serious
global problem, and the number of cases resulting from this
disease has become about one million people in 2016 This is
after the great decrease that occurred in the years between
2000 and 2016, the number of new cases of the virus
decreased by about 39%, and the deaths resulting from
infection with the virus decreased by about 33%.
• Not every person suffering from the human immunodeficiency
virus is infected with AIDS, but the person who is exposed to
the virus will get sick in one of the following cases:-

1. If the patient is not conforming to the treatment required for

continued uptake.

2. In the case of discovering the disease in late stages.

3. If the patient is suffering from resistance to the known

antivirals taken by the human immunodeficiency virus.

• When the person reaches the disease stage, the immune

system is unable to resist infection and diseases, and then he
will suffer from some diseases, including the following:-

1. Recurrent fever.
2. Swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck and under the
armpit.
3. Feeling tired.
4. Night sweats.
5. Spots appear on the skin, inside the mouth, eyelid, and nose.
6. Feeling anxious and depressed.
7. The patient suffers from some neurological problems such as
memory loss, confusion and difficulty concentrating.
8. Fast weight loss.
9. Suffering from diarrhea frequently.
10. Spots appear in the tongue, genitals and anus.
• The virus that causes AIDS is transmitted only by entering the
body fluids of a person who has the virus to an uninfected
person, such as blood, vaginal discharge, sperm, and breast
milk.

• There is no medicine to treat AIDS, but the patient can be

given antivirals that are designed to eliminate the virus in order
to prevent the patient from reaching the AIDS stage.

• If a person has AIDS, the person is expected to live three

years or less if he remains without treatment. In fact, the cause
of death is not due to the disease itself, but because of the
patient's various diseases and cancers due to the weakening
of the immune system and the inability to resist diseases and
these diseases such as:-

1. Pneumonia.
2. Tuberculosis.
3. Oral thrush
4. "Crptococcal meningitis" it's one of the types inflammation
caused by the fungal infection in the brain.
5. "Cytomegalovirus" It is a type of herpes virus.
6. "Taxoplasmosis" It is a disease that occurs due to one of the
parasites that infect the brain.
7. Cryptosporidiosis
8. Some types of cancer such as kaposi's sarcoma and
lymphoma.
References:-
• Single-cell RNA-sequencing of herpes simplex virus 1-
infected cells connects NRF2 activation to an antiviral
program
• MiYao Hu, Daniel P. Depledge, Esteban Flores Cortes, Judith
Breuer, Luis M. Schang. Chromatin dynamics and the
transcriptional competence of HSV-1 genomes during lytic
infections. PLOS Pathogens, 2019; 15 (11): e1008076 DOI:
10.1371/journal.ppat.1008076
• https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journ
al.ppat.1008076
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151739.php
• ↑ "Explaining HIV and AIDS", www.medicalnewstoday.com,
• "‫أ‬HIV/AIDS", www.who.int,
• ^ " A Comprehensive Guide to HIV and AIDS",
www.healthline.com,
• ↑ "Virus", www.britannica.com,
• ↑ "What Are Viruses?", www.livescience.com,
• ↑ "What is a Virus?", www.news-medical.net,

• Lodish H, Berk A, Zipursky SL (1-1-2000), "Viruses:

Structure, Function, and Uses"، www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov,
• ^ Robert M. Krug ,Robert R. Wagner (7-2-2018)، "virus"،
www.britannica.com,
• ^ Aparna Vidyasagar (5-1-2016), "what-is-a-virus"،
www.livescience.com,
• ^ Gary Kaiser (21-1-2018), "General Characteristics of
Viruses"، www.bio.libretexts.org,
• ↑ John W. Kimball (13-7-2018), "Viruses"،
www.bio.libretexts.org,
• http://www.arsco.org/article-detail-460-2-0
• https://www.livescience.com/53272-what-is-a-virus.html
• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.doctorond
emand.android.patient
• https://www.lpsg.com/threads/serious-question-about-
herpes.236690/