What is the host in influenza?
Influenza viruses infect a variety of species; humans, horses and pigs are the main mammalian hosts of the virus in which infection is sustained.
Is influenza lytic or lysogenic?
3.9, fig. 3.16 for a diagram of how influenza virus buds through the host cell membrane.) (1) The cell may lyse or be destroyed. This is usually called a lytic infection and this type of infection is seen with influenza and polio.
What cells does influenza infect?
INFLUENZA PATHOLOGY
Influenza virus replicates in the epithelial cells throughout the respiratory tree, with virus being recoverable from both the upper and lower respiratory tract of people naturally or experimentally infected (2).
How does influenza affect the cells?
Influenza virus targets mainly airway and alveolar epithelial cells in vivo [4,5]. Rapid replication of the virus in these cells disturbs the cellular function and damages tissue as well as causing production of a huge number of dead cells in the lung of the infected host.
How do viruses replicate within a host cell?
Viruses cannot replicate on their own, but rather depend on their host cell’s protein synthesis pathways to reproduce. This typically occurs by the virus inserting its genetic material in host cells, co-opting the proteins to create viral replicates, until the cell bursts from the high volume of new viral particles.
Can a virus have both DNA and RNA?
Viral genomes are unusual because they can be based on RNA or DNA, in contrast to all cellular life forms, which have DNA as their genetic information. An unusual new virus has been discovered that appears to have sequences from both an RNA and a DNA virus.
Is the influenza virus lytic?
As a lytic virus, numerous influenza virus particles are released from the infected epithelia and macrophages (5, 9, 33).
What effects do viruses have on cells?
Effects on Cell Biochemistry: Many viruses inhibit the synthesis of host cell macromolecules, including DNA, RNA, and protein. Viruses may also change cellular transcriptional activity, and protein-protein interactions, promoting efficient production of progeny virus.