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A resume on viruses
Firstly, a bacterium is a single-celled 'germ'. However, a virus is not even classified as being a cell. It consists of a strand of RNA (ribo-nucleic acid - a simpler genetic material than DNA) protected by a 'coat' made of proteins and lipids
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Firstly, a bacterium is a single-celled 'germ'. However, a virus is not even classified as being a cell. It consists of a strand of RNA (ribo-nucleic acid - a simpler genetic material than DNA) protected by a 'coat' made of proteins and lipids
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(protein & fat molecules in a sort of hollow ball structure that can harden in the air to protect the RNA inside). It is not even certain that a virus is truly 'alive' as such - but it does have the ability to commandeer the metabolism of the cells in the hosts it infects
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to make copies of itself. It cannot make more viruses unless it is inside host cells. Once it has 'used up' the host cell to cram it full of copies of itself, the cell dies, bursts and releases the batch of 'home-made' viruses into the host's bloodstream or tissues.
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They then bore into more host cells & duplicate themselves & so on. When many host cells start dying & bursting it is called a 'release cycle' & each time it happens the patient usually has a fever that peaks high. Meanwhile, the host's body recognises it has been invaded by
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foreign protein and begins making antibodies specific to that foreign protein. As the viruses circulate in the host's body, more and more antibodies are made by the host and then rush to 'catch' the invaders and absorb (kill) them. This is how the body finally overcomes the
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infection and recovers. Afterwards, the body 'remembers' how to make those specific antibodies, so, if re-infected, it can produce lots of the appropriate antibodies really fast & stem the infection before it enters the 'release' cycle. This is called gaining immunity to a
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specific virus. When scientists develop a vaccine, they are looking to produce a 'dead' version of the specific virus that will still stimulate the body to produce lots of antibodies to it, so a vaccinated person will then be immune to infection by the real virus.
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Because viruses can live inside their hard 'coats' for several days outside human bodies, that's why u can catch the virus from surfaces other infected people have touched, like door handles, petrol pump handles, buttons on credit/debit card payment machines, bus rails, etc.
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One sneeze can project live viruses 10 feet through the air and you can breathe in the spray without realising. Mouths, noses and eyes are the main viral entry points to the body - so if you go out and about, and have touched anything that could be virusy,
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wash your hands the moment you get home and avoid putting fingers/hands to your mouth/nose/eyes before disinfecting your hands.
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"Cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2 peptides revealed pre-existing T cell responses in 81% of unexposed individuals and validated similarity with common cold coronaviruses, providing a functional basis for heterologous immunity in SARS-CoV-2 infection" Q.E.D https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-020-00808-x
