• All viruses are obligate parasites, meaning they can only reproduce and survive within a host cell. 

• A virus is not a cell but is an infectious particle. All viruses have a nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA), a protein coat called a capsid, and some viruses are enclosed in a membranous envelope. Viruses do NOT have organelles. There are many different virus shapes, and these shapes determine how it takes over or attaches to the host cell.

 

• Life Cycle - there are 2 different cycles that viruses may experience: the Lytic Cycle and the Lysogenic Cycle

  • Lytic Cycle - all viruses can do this, and it is known as the “active” cycle. The virus will attach and penetrate the host cell, and then take over the nucleic acid synthesis and force the cell to reproduce the virus. This may cause the cell to lyse (burst), releasing all of the new virus particles which will then infect other hosts, or the virus particles may just bud off of the host cell. 

  • Lysogenic Cycle - The virus will be inserted into the host cell’s genome and STAYS. The virus can stay dormant for years, until the host cell conditions deteriorate, and then may become active. Examples of this include HIV and Herpes.

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• Mode of infection - 

  • While some modes of infection still need to be tested the main mode of infection is person to person through respiratory droplets. Said droplets occur when a cough or a sneeze happens and then the droplets are inhaled by someone typically within six feet of the sneeze or cough.