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[13]: 631 The viruses that infect plants are harmless to animals, and most viruses that infect other animals are harmless to humans. [ 6 ] : 272 The host range of some bacteriophages is limited to a single strain of bacteria and they can be used to trace the source of outbreaks of infections by a method called phage typing . [ 90 ]
Gamma phage, an example of virus particles (visualised by electron microscopy) Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses.It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, their interaction with host organism physiology and immunity, the diseases they ...
Virus classification is the process of naming viruses and placing them into a taxonomic system similar to the classification systems used for cellular organisms. Viruses are classified by phenotypic characteristics, such as morphology , nucleic acid type, mode of replication, host organisms , and the type of disease they cause.
Not all viruses are harmful, and many don’t infect humans. But ones that do cause can cause COVID, flu, hepatitis, shingles, herpes, measles, colds and many other illnesses.
Like all animals, humans carry vast numbers (approximately 10 13 to 10 14) of bacteria. [3] Most are in the gut, though there are many on the skin. Most of the bacteria in and on the body are harmless or rendered so by the protective effects of the immune system, and many are beneficial, [4] particularly the ones in the gut.
Different viruses can infect all the organs and tissues of the body and the outcomes range from mild or no symptoms, to life-threatening diseases. [5] Humans cannot be infected by plant or insect viruses, but they are susceptible to infections with viruses from other vertebrates. These are called viral zoonoses or zoonotic infections. [6]
Over the millennia, pandemics that have killed millions of people have been caused by pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and fungi that crossed over to people from animals.
Diverse viruses colonize the human skin and differ by skin site. [27] This skin virome includes human viruses (i.e. human papillomavirus) and bacteriophages (bacterial viruses) that infect commensal skin bacteria such as Staphylococci. [28] Virus communities differ by moisture levels and degree of protection from the external environment. [27]