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Chickungunya Virus Research Paper

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One of the most complex and unexplored disease causing agents are viruses. They are known to be able to infect a wide array of organisms, from plants and animals, to bacteria and fungi. Essentially, anything that is living is capable of being infected with a virus. Once the host's cell is infected, the viruses' goal is to produce more viruses which will infect neighboring cells to continue the cycle.

Scientists are now researching viral swarms to help us better understand the swarms' importance and relationship to these viruses. Swarms are what enable viruses to travel from one region of an organism, like the gut, to another, like the brain. Vignuzzi, a virologist, began researching Polio swarms. at first, but soon changed his focus towards Chickungunya, an emerging virus within the Americas. Vignuzzi discovered that mutations in viruses cause diversity, and diversity enables for better adaptation. However, there must be a balance, as too many mutations will ultimately lead to the viruses' death. He came to the conclusion that …show more content…

With this single mutation, the Chickungunya virus codes for a protein which helps it enter the mosquitoes cells via a receptor protein. This simple, yet fascinating mutation allows for the virus to transfer from species to species as it changes the virus' surface proteins.

Vignuzzi's began by taking the original Chickungunya strain that circulated in Kenya and infected multiple Asian tiger mosquitoes with the virus in a lab. Within a few weeks, Vignuzzi found two new mutants of the Chickungunya virus, which is fascinating considering the time they have spent working with this virus. This discovery may possibly lead to the future outlook of this virus, which would be beneficial to society.

With the continuous research of these swarms we will better understand the relationship these viruses share with their

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