Key Terms in Viral Pathogenesis

Question 1

pathogenesis

Answer 1

the process of causing disease

Question 2

virulence

Answer 2

the capacity of a virus to induce disease; synonymous with pathogenicity

Question 3

tropism

Answer 3

the cell or tissue types that support the replication of a given virus strain - what host and cell can they infect?

Question 4

attenuation

Answer 4

the process of DIMINISHING THE VIRULENCE of a disease-causing virus

Question 5

zoonosis

Answer 5

an animal virus that can infect humans (arbovirus is transmitted by arthropod like a mosquito or tick)

Question 6

reservoir

Answer 6

host species required for the life cycle of a virus

Question 7

vector

Answer 7

an animal (often an insect) that transmits viruses from one host to the next

Question 8

endemic

Answer 8

a disease found regularly in a community

Question 9

epidemic

Answer 9

widespread occurrence of an infection at a particular, possibly periodic time in a community

Question 10

pandemic

Answer 10

an epidemic that spreads at a dramatically increased level over continents or the globe