Disease or Syndrome
virus diseases
[ vahy-ruhs dih-zeez-ez ]
Subclass of:
Infection
Definitions related to virus diseases:
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Disease produced by viruses.CRISP ThesaurusNational Institutes of Health, 2006
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A general term for diseases caused by viruses.NLM Medical Subject HeadingsU.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
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(viral infection) Any disease caused by a virus.NCI ThesaurusU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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(viral infections) Viruses are very tiny germs. They are made of genetic material inside of a protein coating. Viruses cause familiar infectious diseases such as the common cold, flu and warts. They also cause severe illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19. Viruses are like hijackers. They invade living, normal cells and use those cells to multiply and produce other viruses like themselves. This can kill, damage, or change the cells and make you sick. Different viruses attack certain cells in your body such as your liver, respiratory system, or blood. When you get a virus, you may not always get sick from it. Your immune system may be able to fight it off. For most viral infections, treatments can only help with symptoms while you wait for your immune system to fight off the virus. Antibiotics do not work for viral infections. There are antiviral medicines to treat some viral infections. Vaccines can help prevent you from getting many viral diseases.MedlinePlusU.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
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A virus is composed of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a protein coat. It requires a living cell in which to multiply. A viral infection can lead to a spectrum of symptoms from asymptomatic (no overt symptoms) to severe disease.Merck & Co., Inc., 2020
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Viral disease, disease caused by viruses. Long-term immunity usually follows viral childhood diseases. The common cold recurs into adulthood because many different viruses cause its symptoms, and immunity against one does not protect against others. Some viruses mutate fast enough...Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2020
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