What disease is caused by a virus? Actually, there are a number of different types of viruses. These various types of viruses cause various types of diseases. For instance, Common Cold and Upper Respiratory Tract Infections can be caused by 200 different types of viruses.
Of all the different types of diseases, the diseases that are caused by viruses attacking the white blood cells are the most dangerous. AIDS is the prime example of such a condition.
Besides, certain viruses may even reach the brain, either through blood stream or peripheral nerves and eventually give rise to acute or chronic neurological diseases. Such diseases tend to develop slowly yet progressively over a period of time.
Some other diseases caused by viruses are Common Cold, Pneumonia, Measles, Mumps, Shingles, Chicken Pox, Mononucleosis, Herpes, Warts, Leukemia, Meningitis, Rabies, Dengue Fever, Epstein-Barr disease, Yellow Fever, Cold Sores, Encephalitis, Gastroenteritis, Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, X and numerous other common as well as serious diseases.
Causes and Symptoms of Any Disease Caused By Virus
A virus is a microscopic microorganism that lives and replicates within the cells of living hosts and cannot survive without host cells. It is for this reason that most of the viral diseases are considered infectious in nature. Such infectious diseases tend to attack the immune system and cause illness.
Insect bites may also cause certain types of viral diseases because of the presence of viruses in their saliva. These viruses or parasitic pathogens mostly enter the body through contaminated food, air, water, blood transfusion, saliva or through direct contact with an infected individual.
A virus can cause any disease not only in humans but also in plants and animals. Though, there are certain types of viruses that do not cause diseases. Certain viral diseases can be prevented with the help of vaccines.
Vaccines tend to stimulate the body’s defenses against infections through exposing to weakened viruses. Some common symptoms of any disease caused by a virus are lethargy, fever, headache, loss of appetite and flu like symptoms etc.
Additional symptoms and complications may also be caused depending on the type of virus and the nature of disease. Serious diseases caused by viruses, for instance Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can eventually prove to be fatal too.
Infectious diseases are mostly treated with the help of antibiotic and antiviral medicines. However, antibiotic drugs are usually ineffective against any disease caused by a virus.
Antiviral medicines, on the other hand, selectively interfere with viral replication. Therefore, prevention is definitely better than cure in case of viral illnesses.
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