Virus

Size
Viruses are extremely small,
even smaller than bacteria.
What are viruses?
Most viruses have a diameter Viruses are non-
between 20 and 300 living agents that
nanometres, meaning they replicate inside the
cannot be seen even under a cells of their host.
microscope.

Examples How do they work?

Chickenpox. When a virus infects the host, it
Flu (influenza) first injects its RNA into the cell.
Herpes. This RNA forces the cell to make
Human immunodeficiency virus copies of the original virus. When
(HIV/AIDS) there are enough copies, the cell
Human papillomavirus (HPV) bursts, and the virus copies
Infectious mononucleosis. escape the cell to find more cells
Mumps, measles and rubella. to infect.
Shingles.

Vaccination
Antibiotic
Fortunately, many
resistance vaccines have proven
successful, in preventing
Unfortunately, due to the
viral diseases. They work
tiny size of viruses,
by exposing the body to a
antibiotics don't work on
weakened version of the
them. This means we must
virus, meaning the body
rely on the body's immune
can gain immunity to the
system to fight viral
virus without getting sick.
diseases. Some antiviral
drugs are being
developed currently.

Structure of
viruses
The outer protein layer of
the virus protects it from
damage while it is out in the
environment. The inside of
the virus contains the
genome of the virus, which is
what gets injected into the
host cell to force it to
replicate the virus.