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 Virus Medical Clinic, London - Centre for research, information, prevention and treatment using complementary and allopathic medicine.Electronic microscopy of the fluvirus H1N1 ...they are well known for causing disease, but most viruses coexist peacefully with their host.
ON THIS PAGE
INTRODUCTION
HOW VIRUSES REPLICATE
LINKS
LIST OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS: VIRUSES
INTRODUCTION
Medicine seems helpless when it comes to (most) viruses. The "harmless" ones disappear after a while, because ones immune system is capable enough to deal with them.
Then there are vaccinations, name them useful or call some of them dangerous... at least some are quite controversial.
Laser therapy can be part of a solution to tackle viruses... (see TDSL page)
WHAT IS A VIRUS?
A virus is an intracellular parasite which grows inside the host cells. It uses the host's metabolic machinery. It is debatable whether viruses are truly living organisms. Specific viruses attack specific types of cells. F.e. respiratory syncytial viruses infect only the cells of the respiratory tract and bacteriophages attack only bacteria.
A VIRUS does not grow, but replicates
A VIRUS does not respire
A VIRUS does not move
A VIRUS is made of nucleic acid and a protein coat. Some viruses have an envelope, made of lipid and usually derived from the cell in which they grow. Other viruses are naked and just have their protein coat exposed, protecting the nucleic acid within the centre of the structure.
A VIRUS genome comprises of either RNA or DNA*
A VIRUS infects animals, plants, fungi, protists, bacteria and archaea
A VIRUS origin is unknown
*Retroviruses, like HIV, carry an RNA copy of the genome but upon infection of a host cell a cDNA copy of the virus RNA genome is made using the enzyme reverse transcriptase. A retrovirus has a genome comprising RNA in the virus particle. From this, the cDNA copy is made following infection of a new cell. The cDNA copy then integrates into its host cell genome.
VIRUSES CO-EVOLVED WITH THEIR HOSTS
Viruses were discovered in the late 19th century swhen the scientists Ivanowski (1892) and Beijerink (1898( worked independently with infected tobacco plants. Both demonstrated that there was an infectious agent that could pass through filters known to remove bacteria. This demonstrated the existence of an much smaller infectious agent, known today as the Tobacco Mosaic virus.
In 1796 a small pox vaccination was invented without knowing the (viral) cause of this disease!
1898 - the first animal virus was identified (Foot-and-Mouth virus)
1901 - the first human virus was identified (the Yellow Fever virus)
1917 - discovery of viruses that can infect bacteria
1918 - worldwide influenza epidemic
1939 - first visualisation of a virus with an electronic microscope
1962-70 - Mumps, Measles and Rubella (MMR)vaccine lincensed
1983 - identification of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the agent for AIDS.
 A flu-virus model copywright: Russell Kightley Media ...HOW VIRUSES REPLICATE
1. ADSORPTION: The virus attaches itself to the cell surface. The attachment-protein of a virus recognises specific receptors on the surface of the cell. These receptors can be lipids, proteins or carbohydrates. If the cell don't have the specific receptors, they are not susceptible to the virus.
 Fusion of a virus with the plasma membrane after attachment to a cell surface receptor (Fig. University of South Carolina, School of medicine) 2. PENETRATION: The virus enters the cell (different viruses have different entry-modes). Enveloped viruses either fuse with the plasma membrane or some enveloped viruses require an acid pH for fusion to occur and are unable to fuse directly with the plasma membrane. These viruses are taken up by invagination of the membrane into endosomes. Non-enveloped viruses either cross the plasma membrane directly or are taken up into the endosomes. They then distroy the membrane of the endosome.
3. UNCOATING: Once the nucleic acid is uncoated, infectious v iral particles (virions) cannot be recovered from the cell.
4. SYNTHESIS OF VIRAL NUCLEIC ACID AND PROTEINS, followed by ASSEMBLY and MATURATION.
5. RELEASE: The virus may be released due to cell lysis. If enveloped it may bud from the cell. Budding viruses do not necessarily kill the cell; some budding viruses may be able to set up persistent infections. Not all released viral particles are infectious.
The presence of a virus leads to morphological changes in the host cell. This cell change is called Cytopathic Effect, CPE (e.g. cell rounding, disorientation, shrinking, swelling, or death).
"Many viruses induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in infected cells. This can be an important part of the host cell defense against a virus - cell death before the completion of the viral replication cycle may limit the number of progeny and the spread of infection. (Some viruses delay or prevent apoptosis -thus giving themselves a chance to replicate more virions.)
Some viruses affect the regulation of expression of the host cell genes which this can have important results both for the virus's ability to grow, and in terms of the effect on the host cell." (School of Medicine, University of South Carolina)
LINKS
click here to go to Christian Beuret's website
all the virology
go to virus database
university of South Carolina - Virology
to go to Nutrition London
visit the Bacteria Clinic London
visit the Parasite Clinic London
to go to the STOP-READY-MEALS campaign
visit the IBS website
visit the Fungus and Yeast Clinic London
visit ageless-technologies Laser Clinic
go to Immune Clinic London
List of biological agents: VIRUSES
ADENOVIRIDAE 2
ARENAVIRIDAE
LCM-Lassa-virus complex
(Old World arenaviruses):
Ippy
Lassa fever
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis
Mobala
Mopeia
Other LCM-Lassa complex viruses
Tacaribe-virus-complex
(New World arenaviruses):
Amapari
Flexal
Guanarito
Junin
Latino
Parana
Pichinde
Sabia
Tamiami
ASTROVIRIDAE
BORNAVIRIDAE
Borna disease virus
BUNYAVIRIDAE
Akabane
Bunyamwera
California encephalitis
Germiston
Oropouche
Hantaviruses:
Belgrade (Dobrava)
Hantaan (Korean haemorrhagic fever)
Prospect Hill
Puumala
Seoul
Sin Nombre (formerly Muerto Canyon)
Other Hantaviruses
Nairoviruses:
Bhanja
Crimean/Congo haemorrhagic fever
Hazara
Phleboviruses:
Rift valley fever
Sandfly fever
Toscana
Other Bunyaviridae known to be pathogenic
CALICIVIRIDAE
Hepatitis E
Norwalk
Other Caliciviridae
CORONAVIRIDAE
SARS
FILOVIRIDAE
Ebola Reston
Ebola Siena
Ebola Sudan
Ebola Zaire
Marburg
FLAVIVIRIDAE
Flaviviruses:
Dengue viruses types
Hepatitis G
Israel turkey meningitis
Japanese B encephalitis
Murray Valley encephalitis
Rocio
Sal Vieja
San Perlita
Spondweni
St Louis encephalitis
Wesselsbron
West Nile fever
Yellow fever 3 V
Tick-borne virus group:
Absettarov
Hanzalova
Hypr
Kumlinge
Kyasanur forest disease
Louping ill
Negishi
Omsk
Powassan
Russian spring summer encephalitis
Hepatitis C group viruses:
Hepatitis C
Other flaviviruses known to be pathogenic
HEPADNAVIRIDAE
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis D (delta)
HERPESVIRIDAE
Cytomegalovirus
Epstein-Barr virus
Herpes simplex types 1 and 2
Herpes virus varicella-zoster
Herpesvirus simiae (B virus)
Human herpesvirus type 6 - HHV6
Human herpesvirus type 7 - HHV7
Human herpesvirus type 8 - HHV8
ORTHOMYXOVIRIDAE
Influenza types A, B and C
Tick-borne orthomyxoviridae:
Dhori and Thogoto
PAPOVAVIRIDAE
BK and JC viruses
Human papillomaviruses
Simian virus 40 (SV40)
PARAMYXOVIRIDAE
Hendra (formerly equine morbillivirus)
Human metapneumonovirus
Measles
Mumps
Newcastle disease
Nipah
Parainfluenza (Types 1 to 4)
Respiratory syncytial virus
PARVOVIRIDAE
Human parvovirus (B19)
PICORNAVIRIDAE
Acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis virus (AHC)
Coxsackieviruses
Echoviruses
Polioviruses
Rhinoviruses
Hepatoviruses:
Hepatitis A (human enterovirus type 72)
POXVIRIDAE
Buffalopox
Cowpox
Milker’s nodes
Molluscum contagiosum
Monkeypox
Orf
Vaccinia3
Variola (major and minor)
Yatapox (Tana and Yaba)
REOVIRIDAE
Coltivirus
Human rotaviruses
Orbiviruses
Reoviruses
RETROVIRIDAE
Human immunodeficiency viruses
Human T-cell lymphotropic viruses (HTLV) types 1 and 2
Simian immunodeficiency virus
RHABDOVIRIDAE
Duvenhage
Piry
Rabies
Vesicular stomatitis
TOGAVIRIDAE
Alphaviruses:
Bebaru
Chikungunya
Eastern equine encephalomyelitis
Everglades
Getah
Mayaro
Middleburg
Mucambo
Ndumu
O’nyong-nyong
Ross river
Sagiyama
Semliki forest
Sindbis
Tonate
Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis
Western equine encephalomyelitis
Other known alphaviruses
Rubiviruses:
Rubella
TOROVIRIDAE
UNCLASSIFIED VIRUSES
Hepatitis viruses not yet identified
Transfusion transmitted virus
UNCONVENTIONAL AGENTS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM
ENCEPHALOPATHIES (TSES):
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
and other related animal TSEs
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Fatal familial insomnia
Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome
Kuru
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