Human Rhinovirus Essay

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) causes acute respiratory tract infection in patients of all ages and is one of the most popular diseases of childhood. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, which manifests primarily as bronchiolitis and/or viral pneumonia, is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract (LRT) infection in infants and young children. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lungs) and pneumonia in children under one year of age in the United States. During the first year of life, most infants are infected with the virus. Most RSV infected children encounter

* Flaviviruses: share a common size (40-60nm), symmetry (enveloped, icosahedral nucleocapsid), nucleic acid (positive-sense, single stranded RNA approximately 10,000-11,000 bases), and appearance in the electron microscope. Therefore, images of West Nile virus are representative for this group of viruses.

Pathogens are everywhere. They are in people, animals, and the environment. Pathogens come in a wide variety. The types are fungal, bacterial, viral, and other parasites. All pathogens can be dangerous, but two of them are more dangerous. These two types that more dangerous are fungal and bacterial. While both fungal and bacterial pathogens cause illness, they differ in the way they are transmitted, the way they are treated, and the diseases they cause.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has a seasonal and yearly incidence, usually between November and April. It is responsible for high infant morbidity and mortality worldwide.. By the first year of life, 60% of children are infected, and almost 100% are infected by 2 years of age. (Saso,&Kampmann,2016). The more common age for hospitalizations occur between 2-3 months of age, and is the leading cause of infants being hospitalized in the developed world, accounting for 2 % of admissions during the winter season. (geerdink,Pillay,Meyalard,2015). The natural RSV infection in those younger than 6 months does not adequately develop a long-lasting immunological response, making reoccurrence of infection likely to reoccur. RSV is an infection that causes cold-like illness that can also cause otitis media, rhinitis, bronchitis, croup, and, pneumonia. Although RSV can cause different reactions, Bronchiolitis is the most common form of occurrence in the pediatric population. This virus is very caustic to the respiratory lining for vulnerable infants, that it increases the risk for respiratory diseases in later years of childhood.

Respiratory Synctial Virus (RSV) is an infection that is contagious that resembles the common cold a lot of times. RSV is the most common viral pathogen that causes lower respiratory tract infections in infants. RSV infection in infancy cause severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia and may incline children to the following development of asthma, the most common chronic illness of childhood. RSV is the most single related cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis. Epidemics of the virus are seen each winter, 80% of infections typically occur during a three-month period. The virus is not typically severe during infancy but it is rare if it happens. (As, in my case I was born with the RSV virus and was hospitalized for eighteen days and was put on assisted ventilation.) In infants RSV infection can spread to the bronchial tubes and lungs. The virus can also infect adults, in where the infection can cause viral pneumonia, which is sometimes followed by a bacterial infection of the lower respiratory system.

RSV is the most common cause of LRTI’s leading to morbidity and mortality in children across the world. Most children have acquired an RSV infection by the time they reach 2 years of age. It is typical to see these infections during the winter/early spring seasons in temperate regions, and during the rainy seasons in tropical areas. This is likely due to the increase of indoor crowding related to weather. The transmission of RSV requires close contact by either a large particle aerosol, or by contamination of hands followed by an inoculation into the eye or nose. Secondary infections are seen in in family contacts of an individual with a primary case due to their close contact.

Although the skin barrier is an effective defence mechanism to most microorganisms, there are three ‘passageways’ that can provide a ‘direct route for microbes to enter the body’ (D.Chiras, 2007:278). The respiratory tract is the most susceptible way for the flu virus to penetrate the body as flu is an airborne virus transmitted via respiratory droplets ‘as a direct result of coughing or sneezing or direct close personal contact’ (Perry,2010:11-15).

When CAP occurs, it is determined if the need for hospitalisation is necessary as it depends on the seriousness of the infection. Gram- positive organisms such as S. pneumoniae, naturally occur in the upper respiratory tract, is one cause of lower respiratory infections such as pneumonia, but is also a culprit in causing upper respiratory infections like otitis media. H. influenzae is just one of many bacterial infections that can result in CAP, it therefore can be subacute and present with a low-grade fever and a persistent cough for a few weeks before a patient has a diagnosis. Adults that have very little or no immunity are an easier target for certain viruses such as that of the Cytomegalovirus, which is a viral pathogen that is commonly contracted within the community, other common virus are adenovirus and herpes simplex. When a virus starts to become acute, it starts an infection within the ciliated cells within the airway. When pneumonia occurs from this viral infection, the inflammatory action starts to seep into the alveolar areas and leads to the problem of excess exudation and oedema within the respiratory tract. It is sometimes often difficult to differentiate symptoms of a viral pneumonia from that of bacterial pneumonia (Smeltzer &

Aspirin, Tylenol and Advil reduces the fever. Drinking lots of water helps along with an inhaler for the wheezing or shortness of breath. Antibiotic is also prescribed if in the secondary stage of bacterial infection. Doctors would recommend someone to stop smoking when being diagnoses as it is a risk. A test can be taken called spirometry which tells you how well your lungs are working along with x-ray and other tests.

Based on previous research and literature, the common cold virus (Rhinovirus) aggravates symptoms of asthma. In addition, those with asthma tend to be affected by Rhinovirus more often than healthy patients, or allergic individuals without asthma. Our hypothesis is that there are differences in innate immunity that result in an exaggerated response in asthmatics. In order to unravel the mechanism behind this difference, nose scrapings were taken from asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients. The epithelial cells were treated with varying conditions including control media, rhinovirus at concentrations of 10TCID and 100TCID, and poly dIdC, which is a RNA mimic of the common virus designed

Acute tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils secondary to an infectious process causing painful swallowing and is more commonly attributed to a viral cause rather than bacterial (Shepherd, 2013). A physical assessment of the tonsils may reveal an increase in size with edema and erythema. This is often associated with upper respiratory symptoms like, headache and cough (Shepherd, 2013). Another diagnosis is pharyngitis. Pharyngitis is also a sore throat which is secondary to inflammation noted at the back of the throat and associated with complaints of pain when swallowing (Shepherd, 2013). Viral pharyngitis is the most common and can be contributed to the rhino or coronavirus which lasts between 5-7 days and presents with associated symptoms like cough, headache, fatigue and mild fever (Ruppert & Fay, 2015). Finally, GABHS or more commonly noted as strep throat is a potential diagnosis. This bacterial infection is most common in children and adolescents. Often individuals present with symptoms including throat pain, fever, chills, headache, cervical lymphadenopathy and exudate noted to tonsils or in the pharyngeal (Ruppert & Fay, 2015). This infectious process in younger children may also present with gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain but is not accompanied by cough or nasal

Influenza is one of the most contagious illnesses caused by airborne viruses. I can lead to mild or severe illness and even death. Influenza can come suddenly and is marginally different to a ‘Cold”. The virus can cause infections of the lower respiratory tract (lungs) and the upper respiratory tract (throat, nasal). Influenza is disease that may cause symptom such as the following; fever (high body temperature), sore throat, muscle or body aches, cough, Headaches, runny or stuffy nose, fatigue/tiredness (CDC, 2016). it belongs to “Orthomyxoviridae” family of infections, “myxa” meaning ‘mucus’ in Greek. There are three major types of influenza that may also be addressed as different terminologies, such as flu

SARS appears to spread by close person-to-person contact. It is thought that transmission is most readily occurred through respiratory droplets. These can be produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets are propelled through the air and are deposited on the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes of a person that is nearby. It is also possible that the virus can spread when a person touches a surface or object contaminated with infectious droplets and then touches their mouth, nose, or eyes. Furthermore, it is possible that SARS-CoV might be airborne spread or by other methods that are not yet known.

An invisible organism enters your body. It penetrates into your tissues and then takes over the machinery in your own cells to make more copies of itself. This tiny infiltrator works silently, producing thousands of these clones that fill up the cell and cause it to explode. The clones mercilessly continue the process of invading, taking over and destroying cells. The result might be a minor inconvenience to you as the host, or it could result in a slow or rapid death. It depends only on which variant of this unwanted infiltrator overcomes your body’s defenses. There are cures to wipe out some types of these invisible intruders, but others are so difficult to eradicate or so readily adaptable, that the world’s greatest scientists

M. pneumoniae is generally referred to as primary atypical or walking pneumonia because the symptoms are not as sever as pneumonia. The symptoms include a dry hacking cough, fever, and headache. The symptoms will last for about 2 to 3 weeks. M. pneumoniae affects people worldwide. Typically only 33 % of people who have M. pneumoniae will get atypical pneumonia. The majority, 77 %, will come down with an upper tract infection (tracheaobronchitis). (Pulmonary Disorders pg 609) M. pneumoniae is transmitted through aerosol droplets. The bacterium is capable of infecting anyone at any time but it has a pattern of coming in the fall and winter and causing an outbreak every 4 to 8 years, although more tight communities occur more frequently. The pathogen rarely occurs on children less than 4 years of age. Since the bacterium lacks a cell wall, B-lactums are futile against them. The body’s immune system is responsible for killing the pathogen. There were 2 million cases in the US with 100,000 requiring hospitalization. The mortality rate is very low with only occasional fatalities among the elderly and sickle cell anemia persons. ( ).