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Article: Viruses and Responses to Viral Infection
- Article from:
- World of Microbiology and Immunology
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Viruses and responses to viral infection
There are a number of different viruses that challenge the human
immune system
and that may produce disease in humans. In common, viruses are small, infectious agents that consist of a core of genetic material
—
either
deoxyribonucleic acid
(
DNA
) or
ribonucleic acid
(RNA)
—
surrounded by a shell of protein. Although precise mechanisms vary, viruses cause disease by infecting a host cell and commandeering the host cell's synthetic capabilities to produce more viruses. The newly made viruses then leave the host cell, sometimes killing it in the process, and proceed to infect other cells within the host. Because viruses invade ...