Basic virology

MERS-coronavirus in dromedary camels

Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), first identified in the fall of 2012 in a Saudi Arabian patient, has since infected over 180 individuals, causing 77 deaths. Antibodies to the virus and the viral genome have been found in dromedary camels in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, implicating those animals as the source of human infections. A new study reveals that …

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Virologia en Español clase #9 – Transcripción reversa e integracion

En esta sesión hablaremos acerca de virus que codifican por una enzima llamada transcriptasa reversa. Revisaremos los ciclos de replicación de los retrovirus y los hepadnavirus, y como estos son capaces de copiar DNA a partir de RNA, incluyendo metodos tan barrocos como la iniciación y el intercambio de templados. Tambien incluiremos una discusión acerca …

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Yet another avian influenza virus, H10N8, infects humans

To the collection of avian influenza viruses known to sporadically infect humans – H5N1, H7N9, H7N2, H7N3, H7N7, H9N2, and H10N7 – we can now add H10N8, recently found in two individuals in China. Avian influenza virus H10N8 was first detected in tracheal aspirates from a 73 year old woman who was hospitalized in November …

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Why do viruses cause disease?

Virulence, the capacity to cause disease, varies markedly among viruses. Some viruses cause lethal disease while others do not. For example, nearly all humans infected with rabies virus develop a disease of the central nervous system which ultimately leads to death. In contrast, most humans are infected with circoviruses with no apparent consequence. Is there …

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An epidemic of porcine diarrhea in North America

Porcine epidemic diarrhea arrived in the United States in the spring of 2013. The disease, caused by a coronavirus, was first identified in the United Kingdom in 1971, and has subsequently spread throughout Europe and Asia. The disease is a concern for the swine industry because it is associated with high case fatality ratios in …

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