Viral diseases
- Viruses can cause many human diseases, including:
- smallpox
- the common cold and different types of flu
- measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, and shingles
- hepatitis
- herpes and cold sores
- polio
- rabies
- Ebola and Hanta fever
- HIV, the virus that causes AIDS
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
- dengue fever, Zika, and Epstein-Barr
- Some viruses, such as the human papilloma virus (HPV), can lead to cancer.
What are friendly viruses?
Just like there are friendly bacteria that live in our intestines and help us in digesting food, humans may also carry friendly viruses that is actually helping the protection against dangerous bacteria, including Escherichia coli (E. coli).
Combating viruses
When the immune system notices a virus, it starts to respond, providing cells to survive the attack. A process called RNA interference destroys the viral genetic material. The immune system creates special antibodies that can attach to viruses, making them non-infectious. The body delivers T cells to annihilate the virus.
The most viral infections initiate a protective response from the immune system, but some viruses like HIV and neurotropic viruses have ways of escaping the immune system’s defenses. Neurotropic viruses contaminate nerve cells, being responsible for diseases like polio, rabies, mumps, and measles. They can change the structure of the central nervous system (CNS) with delayed and progressive effects that can be serious.
