Adenoviruses Essay

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Adenoviruses are the cause to a wide range of illnesses; illnesses may vary from mild respiratory infections to life-threatening multi-organ diseases. Individuals with a weak immune system are at risk to attain the virus. Infections with the adenovirus often result in the development of infections in the upper respiratory tract. Adenoviral infections are often acute, they are self-limiting, and are not associated with death. Adenoviruses are of the Adenoviridae family. Adenoviruses are 90–100 nm in size; they are nonenveloped, which implies they are without an outer lipid bilayer. Because they are large in size, they can be transported through the endosome. Adenoviruses contain an icosahedral nucleocapsid that contains a double stranded DNA genome. The icosahedral protein shell is 70 to 100 nm in diameter, and is made up of two hundred and fifty-two structural capsomeres. There are twelve vertices of the icosahedron, which are occupied by units that are called pentons; each penton has a small projection called a fiber. Hexons compose the edges and the twenty faces of the icosahedron;...

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