Viruses: The Micro Horror

Author’s Note: This is an essay the harmful effects of a virus, plus their functions, how many there are and what they do.

            Viruses are perhaps, the deadliest microscopic organisms known to man since they were actually discovered in the late 1800’s. It is recorded that millions upon millions of lives have died from virus out breaks throughout the millennium, and even more each year. This infectious microscopic horror has brought the most deadly diseases the world has ever known.

To begin with, a virus is a small infectious organism that can reproduce inside the cells of living hosts, like an evil copy machine. This organism can infect animal cells, plant cells, bacteria, and archaea which are a group of single-celled microorganisms with no nucleus and no membrane bound organelles. According to news-medical.net, the Latin word “virus” refers to poison and other toxic substances. When a living thing is infected by a virus, the host’s cell is forced to produce thousands of exact copies of the original virus. This causes whatever disease the virus to spread throughout the entire body.

            In addition, the virus was discovered in 1892, when Russian biologist Dmitry Ivanovsky used a Chamber land filter to study bacteria and accidentally stumbled upon something infecting the bacteria. The very same virus is now today known as tobacco mosaic virus. When a virus is found outside of a cell, it is just a protein coat or shell of a virus particle known as a capsid, sometimes enclosed with a membrane. This makes the virus virtually harmless, until it is found inside a cell. The capsid has the viruses DNA or RNA, which contains all of its elements, the capsid acts as a transportation device to safely the infectious disease to an unsuspecting cell or bacteria.    

            Continuing, there are thousands of viruses around the globe and spreading outbreaks of sicknesses even further. Another reference from news-medical.net is that there are roughly 2,083 species of virus and over 3,000 still unclassified. Some of the deadliest diseases that viruses spread are Trachea, Bronchus, and Lung Cancers, Malaria which is a fatal disease brought by mosquitoes, Tuberculosis which involves the lungs and other organs. Also, Lower Respiratory Infections which is trouble with breathing, Cerebrovascular Disease which is a fancy way of saying stroke, and perhaps the deadliest if the Ebola virus.

Lastly, the Ebola virus spreads a disease with the same name; it is extremely deadly and rare at the same time. According to medterms.com, the disease kills 90% of whoever has caught it; it causes high fever followed by massive internal bleeding. The disgusting part of it is that it alters your cells just like any virus but causes your veins to leak, some of the leaking blood ends up coming out of your skin, eyes, and mouth! Fortunately, this disease is only found in the country of Africa and has not been sighted anywhere in the United States.

In conclusion, the virus is probably the deadliest organism of the microscopic world. It infects a host’s cell and copies the virus; it has killed millions of people. The virus maybe even one of the most dangerous organism known to mankind.         

Bibliography

Introduction to the Viruses. 2007. 17 April 2012 <http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu>.

Steenhuysen, Sharon Begley and Julie. "How secure are labs handling world's deadliest pathogens? ." 15 February 2012. MSNBC.com. MSN. 19 April 2012.

"Virus Clasification." 2012. http://www.news-medical.net. 18 April 2012 <http://www.news-medical.net/health/Virus-Classification.aspx>.

What is a Virus? 2012. 17 April 2012 <http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-a-Virus.aspx>.