Viruses are among the smallest microbes, much smaller even than bacteria. Viruses are not cells. They consist of one or more molecules of DNA or RNA, which contain the viruss genes surrounded by a protein coat. Viruses can be rod-shaped, sphere-shaped, or multisided. Some look like tadpoles.
Unlike most bacteria, most viruses do cause disease because they invade living, normal cells, such as those in the human body. They then multiply and produce other viruses like themselves. Each virus is very particular about which cell it attacks. Various human viruses specifically attack particular cells in the bodys organs, systems, or tissues, such as the liver, respiratory system, or blood cells.
Although types of viruses behave differently, most survive by taking over the machinery that makes a cell work.
Briefly, when a single virus particle, a "virion", comes in contact with a cell it likes, it may attach to special landing sites on the surface of that cell. From there, the virus may inject molecules into the cell, or the cell may swallow up the virion. Once inside the cell, viral molecules such as DNA or RNA direct the cell to make new virus offspring. Thats how a virus "infects" a cell.
Viruses can even "infect" bacteria. These viruses, called bacteriophages, may help researchers develop alternatives to antibiotic medicines for wiping out bacterial infections.
Many viral infections do not result in disease. For example, by the time most people in the United States become adults, they have been infected by cytomegalovirus (CMV). Most of these people, however, do not develop CMV disease symptoms. Other viral infections can result in deadly diseases, such as HIV infection, which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
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