ds DNA viruses Flashcards
what class do dsDNA viruses belong to
Class I baltimore
Important families and examples of dsDNA viruses
Herpes
papillomaviruses
t4 phage
Taxonomy of Herpesviruses
Herpesvirusesbelongs to the family Herpesviridae, order Herpesvirales.
- Derived their family name from the Greek word herpin(to creep).
- Viruses in the family Herpesviridaetypically infect mammals, reptiles and birds while other herpesviruseshave been found to infect fish and amphibians.
Characteristics fo herpesviruses
Persistent infections
- Persistent infection: Infections typically persist for a life time in their host.
- Infections are usually latent which could be activated from time to time especially when the host immunity is compromised.
- Both primary or reactivated infection could be asymptomatic or can result in disease of varying severity.
- Disease severity depends on the interaction between the virus and the host or the host’s immune status.
Human herpesviruses
•Eight species of the herpesvirusesare known to infect man persistently
Herpes Simples viruses 1 and 2
infection
Infection: Upon entering the host, these viruses first infect epithelial cells of the oral and genital mucosa, the cornea or the skin.Thereafter, the viruses are spread to neurons where it may be transported to the nuclei, where it may establish a latent infection
Herpes simplex virus 1
infection
- The HSV-1 virus generally infects the lips or the nose of children between 6 and 18 months.
- Thereafter, a latent infection might become reactivated if the child becomes stressed or the immune system is compromised.
- Once reactivation of a latent infection occurs, mass production of virionsis triggered, of which 20-40% of the cases are transported within the neuron, to the initial site of infection (epithelial cells) resulting in the cold sores.
- Sometimes, infection may result in serious complications like encephalitis, especially in immune suppressed perso
Herpes Simplex virus 2 tissue trophism
- HSV-2 is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the genital herpes.
- Infection in new born babies could be serious and result in fatality of approximately 54%.
Note: Although, HSV-2 and HSV-1 commonly infect the genitals and nose respectively, few cases could result in HSV-2 infecting the nose and HSV-1 infecting the genitals
- Varicella-zoster virus
- The virus commonly cause infection in children by spreading from the blood to the skin, resulting in a rash.
- Infection in children results in varicella (chickenpox).
- Sometimes, the virus may spread to the nerve cells resulting in latent infection.
- Nerves commonly infected are those of the face or the trunk, which are common areas affected by the zoster (shingles) when a latent infection is reactivated.
- Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)
- EBV is transmitted in salivaand first infect the epithelialcells before spreading to B cells, the major host cell types for the virus.
- Usually, greater than 90% of individuals become infected with HBV at the first years of life, resulting in little or no symptoms.
- Some individuals in developed countries do not get infected until about adolescent or adulthood.
- These individuals develop a condition known as mononucleosisor glandular fevercommonly referred to by physicians as ‘’kissing disease’’.
- Also, EBV in humans has been linked with a number of tumors
Human cytomegalovirus
transmission
contact with virus-contaminated body fluids such as, urine, saliva and genital secretions
Human cytomegalovirus
symptoms
majority of infected persons show mild or no symptoms. However, infected pregnant woman can infect their fetus leading to severe consequences
Human cytomegalovirus
Pathology
Pathology: Research showed that 0.7% of children are born with virus, some of which show virus-induced damages such as enlargement of the brain and organs and small brain size.
- 0.5% of babies with congenital infections die.
- About 20% of persons who overcome the virus develop complications such as mental retardation and hearing loss.
- Immuno-compromised persons such as AIDS patients, cancer patients or patients with organ transplant could show severe symptoms involving hepatitis and pneumonia
Human Herpesvirus(HHV) 6
transmission, types and symptoms
- Transmission: Is through person to person contact with secretions from respiratory droplets.
- Two types of human herpesvirus6 exist, HHV-6A and HHV-6B
- Symptoms: HHV-6B infection in children show symptoms of fever and sudden appearance of a rash known as a exanthemsubitum.
- Human Herpesvirus(HHV) 7
transmission, infection and symptoms
- Transmission: HHV-7 has been found in the mouth and blood of humans. Over 95% of humans have had previous infection during childhood and have developed immunity.
- Infection: Affect human CD4+ T cells.
- Symptoms: causes skin rash known as a exanthemsubitumsimilarly as HHV-6B infection. However, it could result to other symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, low lymphocyte count, etc