These viruses can also be spread through contaminated objects, such as doorknobs, tabletops, and personal items. If you touch one of these objects and then touch your nose or eyes, you could develop a disease. Respiratory viral diseases usually heal on their own. But over-the-counter OTC medications, including nasal decongestants, cough suppressants, and pain relievers, can help to reduce symptoms.
In addition, Tamiflu, an antiviral drug, is sometimes prescribed if someone is in the very early stages of developing the flu. The best way to avoid respiratory viral diseases is to practice good personal hygiene.
Wash your hands often, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and limit your interactions with people who show symptoms of a respiratory condition. Gastrointestinal viral diseases affect your digestive tract. The viruses that cause them are contagious and usually lead to a condition called gastroenteritis , also called the stomach flu.
Gastrointestinal viruses are shed in the stool during bowel movements. You can also get the virus from sharing utensils or personal objects with someone who has a virus. In many cases, they resolve on their own within a day or two. In the meantime, drink plenty of fluids to replace those lost from diarrhea or vomiting. You can prevent gastrointestinal viral diseases by washing your hands often, especially after using the bathroom. Wiping down contaminated surfaces and not sharing personal items or eating utensils can also help.
Many exanthematous viruses are spread through respiratory droplets from the cough or sneeze of someone with the virus. Other exanthematous viral diseases, such as chickenpox and smallpox, can be transmitted by coming into contact with fluid in broken skin lesions.
Chikungunya virus is spread through a mosquito bite and cannot be transmitted from person to person. Treating exanthematous viral diseases focuses on managing symptoms. Fever-reducing medications, such as acetaminophen, can help with some of the more bothersome symptoms. Measles, rubella, chickenpox, shingles, and smallpox can all be prevented through vaccination.
You can reduce your risk of a chikungunya virus infection by protecting yourself from mosquito bites. Learn more about viral rashes. The hepatic viral diseases cause inflammation of the liver, known as viral hepatitis. The most common types of viral hepatitis are hepatitis A, B, and C. It is worth noting that diseases caused by other viruses, such as cytomegalovirus and the yellow fever virus, can also affect the liver.
Hepatitis B and C can be transmitted from person to person through bodily fluids. Sharing items that come in to contact with blood, such as needles or razors, can also spread the virus.
Hepatitis B can be spread through sexual contact. Treatments for hepatitis B, C, and D focus on managing symptoms. In some cases, a doctor might prescribe medication, such as antiviral drugs. Treatment of hepatitis A and E involves supportive measures, such as getting plenty of rest, drinking fluids, and avoiding alcohol.
There are vaccines for both hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Other ways to prevent viral hepatitis include not sharing needles or razors, practicing safe sex , and avoiding food or drinks that may be contaminated by feces. Cutaneous viral diseases cause lesions or papules to form on the skin. In the modern world, the deadliest virus of all may be HIV. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and spokesman for the Infectious Disease Society of America.
An estimated 32 million people have died from HIV since the disease was first recognized in the early s. Powerful antiviral drugs have made it possible for people to live for years with HIV. In , there were , HIV-related deaths worldwide.
In , the World Health Assembly declared the world free of smallpox. But before that, humans battled smallpox for thousands of years, and the disease killed about 1 in 3 of those it infected, according to the BBC. It left survivors with deep, permanent scars and, often, blindness. In populations outside of Europe, where people had little contact with the virus before visitors brought it to their regions, mortality rates were much higher.
In the 20th century alone, smallpox killed million people, the BBC reported. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome HPS first gained wide attention in the U. A few months later, health authorities isolated hantavirus from a deer mouse living in the home of one of the infected people.
More than people in the U. The virus is not transmitted from one person to another, rather, people contract the disease from exposure to the droppings of infected mice. Previously, a different hantavirus caused an outbreak in the early s, during the Korean War, according to a paper in the journal Clinical Microbiology Reviews.
While the virus was new to Western medicine when it was discovered in the U. During a typical flu season, up to , people worldwide will die from the illness, according to WHO. But occasionally, when a new flu strain emerges, a pandemic results in a faster spread of disease and, often, higher mortality rates. Dengue virus first appeared in the s in the Philippines and Thailand and has since spread throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the globe, according to Clinical Microbiology Reviews.
A vaccine for Dengue was approved in by the U. Food and Drug Administration for use in children years old living in areas where dengue is common and with a confirmed history of virus infection, according to the CDC. In some countries, an approved vaccine is available for those years old, but again, recipients must have contracted a confirmed case of dengue in the past.
Those who have not caught the virus before could be put at risk of developing severe dengue if given the vaccine. Two vaccines are now available to protect children from rotavirus, the leading cause of severe diarrheal illness among babies and young children.
The virus can spread rapidly, through what researchers call the fecal-oral route meaning that small particles of feces end up being consumed. Although children in the developed world rarely die from rotavirus infection , the disease is a killer in the developing world, where rehydration treatments are not widely available. The WHO estimates that worldwide, there are more than 25 million outpatient visits and two million hospitalizations each year due to rotavirus infections.
Countries that have introduced the vaccine have reported sharp declines in rotavirus hospitalizations and deaths. The virus likely emerged in bats initially, then hopped into nocturnal mammals called civets before finally infecting humans, according to the Journal of Virology. There are three different virus types that are made distinct by their shape. The cylindrical helical virus type is associated with the tobacco mosaic virus.
Envelope viruses, such as influenza and HIV come covered in a protective lipid envelope. Most animal viruses are classified as icosahedral and are nearly spherical in shape. The viruses within these categories share similar characteristics. Viruses are also the most abundant biological form of life on the planet. The first thing a virion does is enter a cell and becomes a virus. Next, it reproduces, creating viral protein and genetic material instead of the usual cellular products.
A virus can then spread through a wide variety of means, such as touching, coughing and sneezing. The body fights viruses by breaking down the viral genetic material via RNA interference.
The immune system then produces antibodies that bind to viruses to make them noninfectious. Lastly, T cells are sent to destroy the virus. Antiviral drugs can treat viruses by inhibiting viral development and slowing down disease progression. These drugs help fight the flue, chickenpox and forms of hepatitis. Vaccines create a herd immunity that helps prevent an outbreak. There are five different types of viruses: Conjugate vaccines, inactivated vaccines, live, attenuated vaccines, subunit vaccines and toxoid vaccines.
There are several ways people can slow the spread of a virus in lieu of drugs or vaccination. These include thorough and frequent hand washing, eating a fruit and vegetable-rich diet, using an alcohol-based sanitizer and getting enough sleep each night.
Around the world, nurses contribute to the prevention, management and containment of viral outbreaks by caring for infected patients and educating the public on prevention strategies.
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