What is a virus?
A piece of bad news(Nucleic acid, DNA or RNA Genome) wrapped up in a protein
Why should we pay attention to viruses?
Because they can be zoonotic!
Defining Viruses
Can viruses grow on an agar plate?
No! They can’t grow on a non-living media
Do virusese have functional ribosomes?
No!
Virion
A complete virus particle that consists of an RNA or DNA core with a protein coat sometimes with external envelopes and that is the extracellular infective form of a virus.
CAN BE FOUND OUTSIDE OF THE HOST!
Virus
Virus is a broad general terminology used to describe any aspect of the infectious agent and includes: the infectious (Virion) or inactivated virus particle, or viral nucleic acid and protein in the infected cell.
Viroid
An infectious particle smaller than any of the known viruses, an agent of certain plant diseases. The particle consists only of an extremely small circular RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecule, lacking the protein coat of a virus.
CAUSES DISEASE IN PLANTS
Variolation
Inoculation was the method first used to immunize an individual against Small Pox (Variola) with material taken from a patient or a recently variolated individual in the hope that a mild but protective infection would result.
Louis Pasteur
injected dried, potassium hydroxide treated, infected rabbit brain material in two boys bitten by rabid dogs and both of them recovered.
Charles Chamberland
In 1884, the French microbiologist Charles Chamberland (1851–1931) invented a filter known today as the Chamberland filter. This filter had pores smaller than bacteria.

Martinus Beijerinck
called this filtered, infectious substance a “virus” and this discovery is considered to be the beginning of virology.
Oncogenic Viruses
viruses that cause cancer
Eradication of an infectious disease
involves complete elimination of the pathogen or
the disease‐causing agent from a defined geographic region.
Smallest Viruses
Porcine circovirus type 1 (17 nm diameter) Parvoviruses (18 nm diameter)
Largest Viruses:
Pandoravirus (400nm diameter)
Poxvirus (200 nm diameter & 300 nm in length)
What shape is this?

Filament-shaped
What shape is this?

Bullet-shaped
What shape is this?

Tadpole-shaped
What shape is this?

Rod-shaped
What shape is this?

Brick-shaped
What shape is this?

Spherical
Pleomorphism
the ability of some Virus to alter their shape or si
Most common shapes of virsues?
rod shaped or spherical