A virus is defined as any of a various number of submicroscopic parasites that can infect any animal, plant or bacteria and often lead to very serious or even deadly diseases. A virus consists of a core of RNA or DNA, generally surrounded by a protein, lipid or glycoprotein coat, or some combination of the three. No virus can replicate without the help of a host cell, and though they can be spread, viruses lack the ability of self-reproduction and are not always considered to be living organisms in the regular sense.Some of the most common or best known viruses include the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is the virus that causes AIDS, the herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores, smallpox, multiple sclerosis, and the human papilloma virus, now believed to be a leading cause of cervical cancer in adult women. The common human cold is also caused by a virus.Since a great deal of mystery still surrounds the origins of most modern viruses, ways to cure these viruses and the diseases they cause are still in the very early stages of development.
Latest about Viruses, Infections & Disease
New RSV drug for babies is over 90% effective at preventing hospitalization
In a new study, the RSV drug nirsevimab was 93% effective at preventing young children from being hospitalized for the respiratory infection.
Raw milk from US dairies must now be tested for bird flu
A new federal order requires that U.S. dairies provide milk samples to the USDA so the agency can test the milk for bird flu prior to pasteurization.
A single gene mutation could enable H5N1 to spread between people, study finds
A new laboratory study pinpoints a way H5N1 could evolve to spread from person to person.
What's the difference between a cold and the flu?
Common colds and the flu differ in many ways, including their causes, some of their symptoms and their treatments.
Acromegaly: A disease that causes adults to grow uncontrollably
Patients with acromegaly make too much growth hormone, which causes them to grow disproportionately large bones, organs and tissues.
WHO is investigating mystery illness behind 12 dozen deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Between 67 and 143 people in the DRC have died of an unknown, flu-like disease, officials have said.
Diagnostic dilemma: A woman cleaned her fish tank and ended up in the hospital
A bacterial infection that rarely occurs in the United States hit a woman in Maryland after she cleaned her home aquarium.
Doctors discover live worms growing under a woman's eyelid in China
An office worker in Beijing developed a parasitic infection that caused worms to grow under her right eyelid.
