I Am Legend: The Kripin Virus

Coughing and sneezing can spread the viruses easily. Infected stool may be infectious, such as changing a diaper or children use hands to touch their stool before touching another objects and put in their mouths..

Viruses, Plagues, and History, written by Michael Oldstone, is an insightful and highly educational book that details the history of, that’s right, viruses and plagues. Through typically dry, yet engaging prose, Oldstone recounts what seems like all of it while simultaneously bringing to light the contributions of those brave scientists who asked themselves, “why.” He focuses his attention on some of the most notable viruses such as smallpox, yellow fever, measles, polio, and later he focuses on more contemporary battles against disease.

The route of transmission of the disease is via infected droplets that spray into the air when people cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can then be inhaled by other people who are in close proximity to the person who is infected. Unfortunately, these droplets can remain active and contagious for several hours on a surface, such that when you touch it with your fingers and then touch your nose or mouth you can become infected. While most cases are easily diagnosed by simply looking at the patient, in the majority of cases it is preferable to have blood tests to confirm 100%. Typically the patient will have a rash that looks like small, bright Koplik’s spots on the inside

It can transfer from person to person through coughing and sneezing since it lives in the throat and nasal cavity. The droplets of the disease can live up to 2 hours in the air. The victim can touch a contaminated surface then touch their eyes, mouth, nose, or breathe in the air and become infected. The infected person can be contagious four days prior or four days after the measles rash appears. (Measles)

| Rash of red, itchy spots that turn into fluid-filled blisters. They then crust over to form scabs, which eventually drop off.It takes seven to 21 days for the symptoms to show after you have come into contact with the virus. This is called the ‘incubation period’.

The Black Plague started in 1347 CE and ended in 1351 CE. Europe declined dramatically by the spreading of an unstoppable virus sent from central Asia. As the virus spread through towns, villages, and across countries, dead bodies of the victims caught by the virus started to pile and gather. As more bodies began to pileup, they were dumped into pits. (Wilson 438) There were many effects of the Black Plague in Europe. The three most important effects of the Black Plague was 1/3 to 1/2 of the European population died, land became worthless, and Jews were blamed for the outbreak and was targeted by Europeans. This impacted Europe socially and economically.

I recently read an article written in The NEWYORKER called The Deadliest Virus by Michael Specter. The article talked about the Avian Flu virus, also known as “bird flu”. In the article, Specter interviewed many people, but the most important person, in my opinion, is a virologist who conducted research on the Avian Flu, Ron Fouchier. This article raised many ethical questions. The questions are as followed: Should research be conducted on this virus? Does Fouchier’s research pose a threat? Does the risk of the work outweigh the benefits of the research?

Varicella is highly contagious. The virus spreads in the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes; there are droplets with the virus in the air. The incubation period for varicella is 14 to 16 days after exposure to a varicella rash, with a range of 10 to 21 days (“Clinical Overview”). Chickenpox displays several symptoms, but they can vary from person to person.

One to five days of fever and malaise may precede the appearance of the exanthemas, which begin as macules, followed by papules, then vesicles, and finally pustules. These will form crusts which fall off after two weeks, leaving pink scars that will fade slowly. In affected areas, the lesions are generally found in the same stage of development. Lesions are most abundant on the face and less on the trunk. Variola major is stable in the extracellular environment. It is most commonly transmitted by respiratory spread. Also, the dried virus in crusts from skin lesions can survive on clothes or other materials and can be transmitted to the others. Patients are highly infectious during the first week of rash after the fever began. Respiratory droplets are infectious earlier than skin

Manifestations to be on the look out for would be those similar to cold like symptoms. These would include a low grade fever, runny nose, headache, swelling/pain in the joints and then the distinctive rash. The client may get the red rash on the face known as “slapped cheek”, as well as a secondary rash on the trunk, back, buttocks, as well as the arms and legs. The rash can be extremely itchy, usually lasting seven to ten days, although on rare occasions lasting up to three weeks. This disease is very contagious! If an individual is around someone who is diagnosed with fifth disease that individual will want to use droplet precautions. This disease is spread through respiratory secretions passed by coughing and sneezing. It can also be passed by blood or blood products. The infected person usually gets sick within four to fourteen days after initially getting infected with the virus. That person is most contagious when they show the signs of having a mild cold, right before the rash appears. Fifth disease is mild for children and adults who are healthy. However, individuals who have immunocompromised systems due to other

BK virus is a common infection that can cause a mild respiratory illness. BK virus is also called polyomavirus. After the first infection, the virus remains in the kidneys and other parts of the urinary tract but is inactive (latent). BK virus very rarely causes problems in healthy people. People may live with this inactive virus for years and never have any more symptoms.

2 to 4 days after the incubation period, the infected person develops the initial symptoms of fever, chills, head and body aches, and vomit; then, the infected person becomes contagious. Afterward, a rash develops on and in the oral cavity area of the infected person causing the infected to become most contagious. After which, the rash develops to pustular rash, and the infected remains infectious. When the pustules form a crust and then a scab, the infected continue to be contagious. It is only after the scabs resolve and fall off, the infected is no longer infectious (World Health Organization,

Measles is an airborne disease that is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person's nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission (coughing or sneezing)), and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity sharing living space with an infected person will catch it.[4] An asymptomatic incubation period occurs nine to twelve days from initial exposure. The period of infectivity has not been definitively established, some saying it lasts from two to four days prior, until two to five days following the onset of the rash (i.e., four to nine days infectivity in total), whereas others say it lasts from two to four days prior until the complete disappearance of the rash. The rash usually appears

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