Viral Infections & Virology

Viruses that damage plants are known as plant viruses. Plant viruses, like all other viruses, are obligatory intracellular parasites that lack the molecular machinery to replicate in the absence of a host. Plant viruses have the potential to cause disease in higher plants. The majority of plant viruses are rod-shaped, with protein discs forming a tube around the viral genome isometric particles are another typical shape.

Animal viruses are identified by the diseases they cause, plant viruses are identified by the disease and plant species that act as hosts, and microbiological viruses are identified by the organisms they infect. Depending on the nature of their genomes, animal viruses are classified as DNA or RNA viruses.

• Host Immune System Responses
• Viral Gene Mutation
• Viral Replication

The study of viruses at the molecular level is known as molecular virology. Viruses are small parasitic parasites that proliferate inside the cells of their hosts. Viruses have more biological diversity than the rest of the bacterial, plant, and animal kingdoms combined because they can successfully infect and parasitize a wide range of life forms, from microbes to plants and animals. Understanding how viruses interact with their hosts, replicate inside them, and because diseases require a deeper understanding of their diversity.

• Gene Expression
• Genome Replication
• Host-Pathogen Interactions

The study of the biology of viruses and viral diseases, including their distribution, biochemistry, physiology, molecular biology, ecology, evolution, and clinical aspects, is referred to as virology. Virology is a branch of study that focuses on traditional virology fields like classification, structure infection, and therapy, as well as advanced scientific domains. Virology is frequently lumped in with microbiology and pathology. Virology's early years were reliant on breakthroughs in the chemical and physical sciences; yet, viruses quickly evolved into tools for examining basic biochemical processes in cells.

• Viral Structure
• Function and Genetics
• Virus-Host Interactions

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a newly found coronavirus that causes an infectious disease. Coronaviruses are a type of virus that can infect humans and cause respiratory disease. The multiple crown-like spikes on the surface of the virus give it the name "corona." Coronaviruses that cause sickness in humans include SARS, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and the common cold. The majority of patients infected with the COVID-19 virus will have mild to moderate respiratory symptoms and will recover without needing any specific therapy. Being thoroughly informed on the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes, and how it transmits is the greatest strategy to avoid and slow down transmission.

Viruses are the most common biological entities on the planet, and they have a huge impact on living beings by producing diseases and influencing their immune systems. Viruses are sequenced in less than 0.01 percent of cases, despite their widespread presence and significance. In terms of etiopathogenesis and the development of innovative therapies, the research of viral infectious diseases is experiencing significant developments at the moment. Virus genome sequencing is an important and fast evolving technology for diagnosing COVID-19 and understanding how the novel coronavirus spreads and is controlled.

Respiratory viruses are the most common cause of sickness in humans, with considerable morbidity and mortality rates around the world. Community-based investigations undertaken over the last five decades or so demonstrate that common respiratory agents from several virus families are the primary etiological agents of acute respiratory infections (ARIs). The severity of viral respiratory illness varies, but it is more common in elderly people and new-borns. Despite the fact that respiratory viruses cause a wide variety of diseases, there are now just a few preventive or therapeutic strategies available. Recent discoveries in respiratory virus molecular and cell biology, on the other hand, should lead to the development of helpful therapies.

Viruses are distinct from all other living species, whether eukaryotes or prokaryotes, in three ways: (1) the environment in which they grow and multiply, (2) the nature of their genome, and (3) the manner of their replication. To begin with, they can only function and multiply inside another live organism, which could be a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell depending on the virus. Viruses are obligate parasites that are a cellular and biologically inert outside of the host cell. Viruses are a diverse group of microorganisms with varying sizes, morphologies, and chemical compositions.

A clinical case definition, also known as a clinical definition or simply a case definition, is a list of clinical criteria used by public health professionals to determine whether a person's illness should be included as a case in an outbreak investigation—that is, whether a person should be considered directly affected by an outbreak. In the absence of an outbreak, case definitions are used in public health monitoring to classify the disorders that exist in a community. A case definition establishes boundaries for a case by limiting time, person, place, and shared definition of the phenomenon under investigation. All cases of a disease documented from a specific time period may be included in the time criteria.

Track1: General Virology

Virology  is the study of viruses and virus-like organisms, which are sub microscopic parasitic microorganisms with genetic material enclosed in a protein coat. It focuses on the structure, classification, and evolution of viruses, as well as their methods of infecting and exploiting host cells for reproduction, their interactions with host organism physiology and immunity, the diseases they cause, isolation and culture techniques, and their use in research and therapy. Microbiology has a subfield called virology.

·         Molecular Biology and Immunology

·         Virus–Host Interactions

A DNA virus is a virus that replicates via a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase and has DNA as its genetic material. The Baltimore categorization system divides viruses into two groups: Group I (double-stranded DNA; dsDNA) and Group II (single-stranded DNA; ssDNA). Infected cells normally extend single-stranded DNA to double-stranded DNA. Plants have a low prevalence of DNA viruses. Only lower plants, such as eukaryotic algae, are infected by dsDNA viruses, which account for 17% of all plant viruses. DNA viruses have genomes that are replicated by DNA polymerases

• Cellular Response to Infection
• Epidemiology
• Novel Model Systems

A virus with single-stranded and double-stranded RNA as its genetic material is known as an RNA virus. RNA viruses use virally encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) to reproduce their genomes. The RNA genome serves as a template for the creation of new RNA strands. At least three types of RNA must be created during RNA virus replication: the genome, a copy of the genome (copy genome), and mRNAs. RNA viruses have a high mutation rate and recombination is common, giving them a unique evolutionary capacity. Rapid environmental changes, such as changes in the pharmacological challenge or immunological pressure, force RNA viruses to adapt..

• Antiviral Drugs and Vaccines
• Cellular Response to Infection
• Epidemiology                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Vaccines are drugs that aid the body's defence against disease. They can teach the immune system to recognise and eliminate pathogens and cells. Vaccines are given to you throughout your life to protect you from common illnesses. Cancer vaccinations are also available. Vaccinations that prevent cancer and vaccines that treat cancer are available. Vaccines for cancer treatment improve the immune system's ability to detect and destroy antigens. On their surface, cancer cells frequently have chemicals termed cancer-specific antigens that healthy cells lack. When these molecules are given to a person as part of a vaccine, they behave as antigens.

• Personalized Cancer Vaccine
• Prophylactic or Preventative Vaccines
• Therapeutic or Treatment Vaccines

The term STD refers to a sexually transmitted disease. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are another term for STDs. STDs are infections that are transmitted from one person to another by sexual activity, such as anal, vaginal, or oral sex. Bacteria, parasites, and viruses are all responsible for STDs.The organisms that cause sexually transmitted diseases

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that affects cells in the body that help it fight infections, making a person more susceptible to other infections and diseases.Contact with certain bodily fluids of an HIV-positive individual, most commonly during unprotected intercourse (sex without the use of a condom or HIV treatment to prevent or treat HIV), or sharing injection drug equipment spreads the virus

• Transmission
• Prevention
• Diagnosis
• Natural History

Infections  that have recently appeared in a population or whose incidence or geographic range is fast expanding or threaten to increase in the near future are known as emerging infectious diseases. In a 2007 report, the World Health Organization cautioned that infectious illnesses are arising at an unprecedented rate. About 40 infectious diseases have been found since the 1970s, including SARS, MERS, Ebola, chikungunya, avian flu, swine flu, Zika, and, most recently, COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. People are travelling much more frequently and over much longer distances than in the past, living in more densely populated places, and coming into closer contact with wild animals, so the potential for new infectious diseases to spread quickly and trigger worldwide epidemics is a serious concern