Authors
Note: This is a research paper I wrote about different types of viruses and
what the causes are and what they are doing to your body.
There are many types of viruses that
are either contagious, or can be caught from an animal or insect. Some viruses
or cancers are caused from genetic and environmental factors like
Leukemia. For example, measles are contagious while the West Nile
can get caught from mosquitoes that have been exposed to birds. But the
question is, do we exactly know what is happening inside our body when we are
infected?
To begin with, most people ask, what
is a virus? Well, “Viruses are non-living microscopic particles that attack healthy cells within
living things. They do not have the characteristics of living things and are
not able to metabolize food. (ThinkQuest)”. So basically viruses attack healthy cells in living
things to make them ill. The most common
way on catching a virus is from being near or having contact with someone that
is infected. Sneezing and coughing is the easiest way of spreading germs, and
more importantly a virus.
One of the deadliest virus or as
others call it cancer, is Leukemia. What happens inside your body when you have
Leukemia? DNA of blood cells get ruined, this causes them to grow and change.
Usually blood cells die and are replaced with new cells. But in Leukemia, blood
cells do not die and occupy space. When the space is taken there is less space
for normal cells and you become sick. To sum it up the good cells get crowded
out by the bad which causes you to feel very ill.
Scientists don’t exactly know the main causes
of Leukemia but they have a couple of thoughts, such as genetic or
environmental factors. The main risk factors to getting Leukemia is if you were exposed to large amounts of radiation,
or exposed to certain chemicals at work, such as benzene. If you’ve had
some types of chemotherapy to treat another cancer,
have Down syndrome or some other genetic
problems scientists believe you are prone to getting cancer.
Another
kind of deadly sickness is a common disease known as the measles. The measles
is so contagious that if you are in any sort of contact with them there is a
90% chance they will get it also. Measles typically begins with a mild to
moderate fever, accompanied by other signs and symptoms, such as a cough, runny
nose, inflamed eyes and sore throat. Two or three days later, Koplik's spots —
a characteristic sign of measles — appear. Then a fever spikes, often as high as
104 or 105 F. At the same time, a red blotchy rash surfaces, usually on the
face, along the hairline and behind the ears. This slightly itchy rash rapidly
spreads downward to the chest and back and, finally, to the thighs and feet.
After about a week, the rash fades in the same sequence that it appeared.
This is how the measles start. The
virus lives in the mucus in the nose and throat of an infected child or adult.
That child or adult is contagious from four days before the rash appears to
four days after. When someone with measles coughs, sneezes or talks, infected
droplets spray into the air, where other people can inhale them. The infected
droplets may also land on a surface where they remain active and contagious for
several hours. Then you can contract the virus by putting your fingers in your
mouth or nose after touching the infected surface. Once the virus gets inside
the body, it grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and lungs. The
infection then spreads throughout the body, including the respiratory system
and the skin.
The last type of virus I am going to
talk about is an interesting infection called the West Nile. “This
virus is carried from infected birds to people by mosquitoes. Symptoms and
signs include fever, headache, body aches, skin rash, and swollen lymph glands” (P.). In the United States, wild birds, especially crows and
jays, are the main reservoir of West Nile virus, but the virus is actually
spread by certain species of mosquitoes. Some mosquitoes seem to spread the infection
mainly among birds, while others are more likely to transmit it to humans,
horses and other mammals. Here's how the transmission cycle works: When a
mosquito bites a bird infected with the West Nile virus, the virus enters the
mosquito's bloodstream and circulates for a few days before settling in the
salivary glands. When the infected mosquito bites an animal or a human, the
virus then enters the host's bloodstream, where it may cause serious illness.
Lastly, do you want to know how an active
virus multiplies and destroys the host cell? Well first off “The virus attaches to a specific
host cell, the virus’s hereditary material enters the host cell, the virus’s
hereditary material causes the cell to make viral hereditary material and
proteins, new viruses form inside of the host cell. New viruses are release” Overall
the virus destroys the host cell to make someone become very ill with any sort
of virus.
In
conclusion, it is important to know what is going on in your body when you are
infected with a virus or multiple viruses. Things like how the viruses were
caused, what it’s doing to your body, and the types of viruses will only help
get rid of your sickness faster. It is an interesting topic to research because
now you know what is really going on inside of you and what it takes to get the
contagion.
Bibliography
"Measles." 6
July 2010. PubMed Health. 19 April 2012
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002536/>.
Nordqvist, Christian.
"What Is Leukemia? What Causes Leukemia?" 2009. MNT. 18 April
2012 <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/142595.php>.
P., John. "West
Nile Virus." 2011. MedicineNet.com. 20 April 2012
<http://www.medicinenet.com/west_nile_encephalitis/article.htm>.
"ThinkQuest."
1996. Viruses. 17 April 2012 <http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212089/virus.htm>.
