Influenza virus may be transmitted among humans in three ways: by direct contact with infected individuals; by contact with contaminated objects (called fomites, such as toys, doorknobs); and by inhalation of virus-laden aerosols. The contribution of each mode to overall transmission of influenza is not known. But something that most of us touch on a …
Influenza virus is infectious for days on banknotes Read More »
The title of this post should not come as a surprise to readers of virology blog – it was shown in 1974 that zinc could interfere with replication of rhinoviruses (see “Zinc and the common cold“). I am referring to the result of my first experiment to study the mechanism of zinc inhibition – something …
A retrovirus that has been implicated in prostate cancer has now been found in the blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. What is this virus and where did it come from? Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disease characterized by fatigue and chronic inflammation that can last years and may affect ~1% of the …
Shortly after I developed sore throat, cough, and congestion last week, a package of ‘Cold – Eeze’ materialized on my kitchen counter. The writing on the package of zinc-laden lozenges promised to ‘shorten your cold’, and noted that they were ‘clinically proven to reduce the duration of the common cold’. Do zinc lozenges have any …
Antibodies produced by infection with a virus, or after immunization with viral vaccines, are effective at preventing viral disease. However humans and higher primates contain “natural antibodies” which are present in serum before viral infection. Natural antibodies can activate the classical complement pathway leading to lysis of enveloped virus particles long before the adaptive immune …
Natural antibody protects against viral infection Read More »
The classical complement pathway begins when the initiator protein C1q binds directly to the surface of a pathogen, or to an antibody that is bound to a microbe. There is a binding site for C1q on the Fc portion of antibody molecules. C1q can also recognize molecular patterns characteristic of pathogens, much like the Toll-like receptors. C1q binding …
