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 The Trouble with Viruses (MFA)

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antonia
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emilia mardones
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PostSubject: The Trouble with Viruses (MFA)   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeTue Jun 29, 2010 3:51 pm

Watch the video below: Flu Virus

In at least 150 words please state whether you agree with the following statement or not and explain why.

Viruses present a far greater threat than other types of pathogen (e.g. bacteria, fungi, protist) to the human population.

You may have to research further on the internet to answer this question effectively. If you do please include references.

DUE DATE: You must post a reply by the start of your second class during Week 29 (11/10/10) bounce

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SARA SEARLE




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PostSubject: Viruses present a far greater threat than other types of pathogen (e.g. bacteria, fungi, protist) to the human population.    The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeThu Oct 07, 2010 10:07 am

Viruses present a far greater threat than other types of pathogen (e.g. bacteria, fungi, protist) to the human population.

Viruses are a big problem in the human population, firstly because they reproduce. This makes it much more difficult to control, because as you kill one virus, there are other three being made. For humans this is a threat, also linked with the factor that they are contagious. In air they are no problem but when they get inside a human, is when they start to reproduce. They can't reproduce without a cell, so they are parasites. The biggest problem of viruses that make it more complicated than bacteria, for example, is that antibiotics don't make any effect on them. This make them very difficult to control or even kill, depending mostly on our immune system.
Bacteria are a much fewer threat because they can be easily controlled by antibiotics (killers of living things). This is because, opposite from virus, bacteria are alive. They breath, move and grow.
Other characteristics that make the virus much more dangerous is its capacity of mutation and resistance to the immune system. This is serious because if it mutates, and the immune system can't defend from it, its very difficult to find another cure, because as it was already told, antibiotics are useless.

http://www.portaleureka.com/accesible/biologia/42-virus-o-bacteria
http://www.maikelnai.es/2007/05/24/¿que-diferencia-hay-entre-un-virus-y-una-bacteria/
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Constanza Zacharias




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PostSubject: Re: The Trouble with Viruses (MFA)   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeWed Oct 13, 2010 12:40 pm

Viruses and bacteria can be very harmful for humans, you can die because of a virus and because of bacteria, but viruses can also infect bacteria. Viruses can mutate and human body doesn’t know how to react and viruses don’t have cure. A virus is an infectious agent that can replicate inside the living cells of organism. Viruses can infect all types of organism. Also is very easy to spread a virus, in humans you can easily spread it by coughing or sneezing. There are maybe more complex and bigger pathogens than virus but doesn’t make easier to get rid off. Antibiotics are useless and if the virus spread worldwide and is contagious it can cause a lot of harm something that with other pathogens doesn’t happen so much. An example of a very dangerous virus is HIV, which like it is a virus it doesn’t have cure and is spread all around the world and is easily contagious. So in conclusion I agree that viruses can be more harmful than other pathogens to human population.
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emilia mardones




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PostSubject: Viruses present a far greater threat than other types of pathogen (e.g. bacteria, fungi, protist) to the human population.   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeWed Oct 13, 2010 6:21 pm

Viruses as we can see in the video present many disadvantages for humans that cannoot be controled with antibiotics so the infections produced depend on each human body and their immune system. The viruses are very small cells that can be transported in droplets in a sneeze and so being contagious to another person, entering easily through the mouth or nose. The cells are so small that enter by "unlocking" the walls of the trachea or throat, inside they start to reproduce in thousands of viruses that exit from the same walls carrying the virus to the cells of the body producing the immune system to react, responding with a fever or an inflammation. The immune system start "fighting" with these virus cells so they stop reproducing. Bacteria and other pathogens are different because they dont reproduce themselves using our body cells and they can be treated easily with antibiotics. Also some bacteria are beneficial to our body unlike virus that is totally harmfull.
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begoña donoso




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PostSubject: Re: The Trouble with Viruses (MFA)   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeWed Oct 13, 2010 7:14 pm

by watching the video and also taking internet references, the viruses may be seen as a very complicated pathogen to treat and del with, but the bacteria and other type of pathogens may also show ocmplications that we are not aware therefore we think that viruses are very threatening to human population. Generaly all typ eof pathogens may have their cpmplication and may be very difficult if we do not take the simple precautions it may lead to some other diseases that may be the same as important as the ones causes by viruses. Comparing the treatment of the bacteria with the viruses, both of them have there simple steps but at the same time the drawbacks for example, the bacterias are also able to repdrocude as easlily as the viruses, actually they respoduce bu itself in any part therfore their repodruction its more availabel meanwhile the reproduction of the viruses are only able if their are inside of the body, so this makes me think that maybe of we are aware of taking the simple precautions sush as washing the hands do not be near people that sneezes or caughs we can prevent viruses, where in the other hand the bacteria is able to reproduce in any place therefore we may be in contact with it and we don´t now. This difference may create a big differenece in why people are more likely to be in disease by a bacetria and not by a virus. Now, the treatment for the bacteria is more simple and easy but at te same time as i allready mention it has the disadvantage that is treated by antibiotics where it may be cause the antibiotic- resistant bacteria and make the antibiotic uneffective, but also the treatment od the virus as the disadvantage that they have vaccines and painkillers but the only involve some few viruses. As my conclusion all the pathogens may be threatening if they dont take the main precautions needed for their treatment.
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isagonzalezc




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PostSubject: Isabel Gonzalez   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeWed Oct 13, 2010 7:17 pm

Viruses are a far greater threat to the human population than other pathogens for several reasons. Firstly, there are only a few antiviral medications in the market, and the few ones there are do not kill viruses as antibiotics kill bacteria. Also, as said in the video, viruses are very dangerous because once the get into your body, they enter cell’s nucleus and rapidly replicate. Viruses change the host cell’s genetic material from its normal function to producing the virus itself. Viruses need a living host, while bacteria could grow on non-living surfaces. Furthermore, viruses mutate easily, so if an antiviral agent worked on the virus, the virus can mutate so that same drug won't work on it in the future. This virus sort of develops a certain resistance, which makes them even more dangerous. As viruses mutate, new viral diseases are being made, but humans are not developing immunity to them. This is causing problems because we cannot fight off the infection, and it can spread rapidly, causing more and more people getting the virus, because they also do not have immunity against it. Also, Viruses are easily spread. You can transmit a virus just by sneezing, or shaking someone's hand. This increases the possibility of getting the virus. Furthermore, the effect of viruses is systematic, while a bacteria effect is localized causing much less problems. Lastly, there are some useful bacteria while all viruses are harmful.

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Bacteria_vs_Virus
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cataovalle




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PostSubject: cata ovalle   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeWed Oct 13, 2010 7:25 pm

Viruses present a far greater threat than other types of pathogen (e.g. bacteria, fungi, protist) to the human population.

Viruses are present all the time in our enviroment. They can get into our system by our nose, mouth or breaks in our skin. After they enter our organism they find a host cell to infect. Once the particle is attached to the host cell they release particles inside the host cell and replication starts. New viruses are formed. This new viruses break free from the host cell and start attaking other cells. This whole process is very threatening because they can enter through are organism by breathing and by the penetration through are skin, meaning that they can enter at any time,any day and in any situation. Viruses are a much bigger threat than pathogens due to the following reasons: According to bacteria viruses reproduce them selves in a high rate, bacteria can be beneficial in some occasions, the virus is harmfull. Antibiotics have exellent outcomes in pathogens, they kill them, due the fact that they are living things, in contrast viruses are not living things, as consequence antibiotics have no effect over viruses. Other risks of viruses is that they can mutate and develop a resistance towards our immune system. Due to the facts mentioned above i completely agree with the video that affirms that viruses are more threatening than pathogens.


http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/infectious/virus-human5.htm
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Bacteria_vs_Virus
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antonia




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PostSubject: Re: The Trouble with Viruses (MFA)   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeWed Oct 13, 2010 9:28 pm

Viruses do present a far greater threat than other tyes of pathogens because they are capable of mutating and change their DNA structure. These abilities help viruses to survive inside the host. By mutating, the virus gain resistance against antiviral medications. Firslty as said in the video, the virus enters a host cell in which they mock him to replicate copies of the virus. In the contrary bacteria dont invade cells, they have their own replication system because they are living organism, not as viruses, this allows antibiotics to kill them. Also there are useful bacteria in the environment instead viruses are all dangerous and harmful. The fact that they dont need a membrane to transport themselves makes you more vulnerable to be infected. Sometimes it can be hard to identify the viruses because they have a lipid layes covering the sequence of amino acids, making it hard for the immune system.

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PostSubject: Re: The Trouble with Viruses (MFA)   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeWed Oct 13, 2010 11:10 pm

I believe that viruses pose a greater threat than bacteria, as they have the ability to mutate. Once they enter the body and find a host cell, they are able to reproduce rapidly, and mutate at the same time, changing their DNA structure, which basically creates many variations of the virus. Once the virus mutates, it's harder to fight against it as the body doesn't know how to defend itself from it, or remove it from the body, and because of the variations it creates by mutating, there is no specific medication that can be taken to stop the virus, as it's constantly changing. By mutating, it can also create a resistance against a certain drug being used to eliminate it in the first place, the virus becomes immune to the drug. Because of these factors, there has been no cure found/invented for the HIV virus, for example.
Viruses are also able to spread easier from human to human than bacteria do. They are able to pass from one human to another if an uninfected person inhales or "takes in" a fluid that comes from the infected person, varying from sneeze droplets to blood.
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PostSubject: cata t   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeThu Oct 14, 2010 7:07 pm

Viruses present a far greater threat than other types of pathogen (e.g. bacteria, fungi, protist) to the human population.
I agree with this statement as several facts acopany my argument, starting with the fact most viruses are harmful meanwhile for example in bacteria we find beneficial ones also.( a good example could be the one in yogurts), etc.
Viruses have a high range of transfusion such as a simple way as sneezing or touching each other´s hand or face. This makes our bodies more vulnerable to this thread, than others which need a fluid such as blood transfusion to be transmitted. After the easy path they carry to enter our organism, they quickly familiarize with the host cells and change their function so that now they would lead the replication of these viruses. They feel comfortable and stay here depending on how does the immune system reacts with the invation of these new foreigners, sadly there is no help it could be received by antibiotic because it wont help with viruses. Therefore it could be very dangerous, spread without limits and create resistance to the antibodies and immune system making it further more difficult for a cure.
Viruses attack systematically meanwhile bacteria react in a more specific way, being more able to be cured( this last one).
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Felipe Elgueta




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PostSubject: Re: The Trouble with Viruses (MFA)   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeFri Oct 15, 2010 11:14 pm

In my opinion viruses are a much bigger threat for humans for several reasons. To start with it is very hard to treat them, as the antibiotics do not work for viruses(only bacteria), so a very powerful resource cannot be used. Also we must mention that viruses reproduce very fast. As said in the video only 1 virus is needed to enter the human, “trick the cells”, and reproduce themselves at an incredible rate. They are a much bigger threat because in some case they can “hide” from the immune system by changing their outer part of the membrane, like HIV. There is another important thing to mention: they mutate easily, which means that once they mutate, memory cells won’t be able to recognise these viruses and therefore will not prevent the spreading of viruses. Also the fact that they spread very easily from host to host is very dangerous. A simple thing such as breathing contaminated air (maybe because someone sneezed) is enough to be infected with the virus, and we don’t even notice!
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sebastian herrera b.




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PostSubject: Viruses   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeSat Oct 16, 2010 12:31 am

Viruses are a greater threat to human population than other pathogens for many reasons. To begin with viruses replicate inside our bodies. Once they are in our bodies and n the nucleus of the cell it quickly reproduces. One virus cell entering or body can make thousand other virus cells. Even though we do have an immune system that kills these cells, it will evntually not be able to kill them all because of the fast virus cell replication. Another factor that makes viruses a bigger threat to humans is that there are a few antiviral medicines in the market. These few ones are not that effective like antibiotics are on bacteria. Also even if an antiviral agent would work on a virus cell, the virus can change so that in the future, that drug will not work on it. As you can see, there are many control problems. Control problems become greater due to the easy spreading of viruses. Just a sneeze, cough, or hand contact can transmit a deadly virus into another persons body. This easy spread makes many people get the virus, and throughout time, the virus mutates. So then the medications will also have to be changing frequently to fight the different viruses. Control issues is one of the things that worry most about viruses.


http://www.diffen.com/difference/Bacteria_vs_Virus
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herrard
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PostSubject: Re: The Trouble with Viruses (MFA)   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeMon Oct 25, 2010 9:40 pm

Viruses are a big threat for the human population. It is effectively the most difficult pathogen to control, as it replicates in a very quick way in the body entering cells and producing a vast quantity of cells which are infected and causes disease to the host. The problem with viruses is that the ways to recover from it are very limited, because normal immunity response can't manage it and the rate of mutation of viruses make them very difficult to control as there are many strains of one type of virus, so any antiviral drug won't be useful as it would most probably cause an enforcement on making a new, stronger strain of virus and complicating the control on the virus. Also the spreading of the virus is very dubious as it can literally be spread any way possible (depending on the virus), thus making it even more difficult to control. In a final note the complication on getting antiviral drugs is too high, they are limited in supply and the demand is quite high making it difficult to help all the infected hosts.
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PostSubject: viruses   The Trouble with Viruses (MFA) Icon_minitimeMon Oct 25, 2010 9:52 pm

The fact that the viruses doesn't have any oral medicine (like bacteria with antibiotics) available, makes this kind of pathogen very strong, because the person that suffers from a particular virus has to "wait" until the immune system takes the virus away or get into a strong, expensive therapies.
The other fact that makes viruses undestructable is the almost immediate replication that viruses do. As they are not a proper cell, but a protein (or a strand of RNA, I'm not quite sure) it's easier to reproduce themselves, much easier than any other pathogen.
So when this two reasons complement each other... we've got as a result a disease which takes long to cure and reproduce quickly inside our bodies, making its spread dangerously threatening, because we can't forget it's an infectious disease: when a person is cured from a virus, he already infected other 3 or 5 people, so it's kind of an everlasting cycle.
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