Читать книгу Principles of Virology, Volume 2 - Jane Flint, S. Jane Flint - Страница 18

 Diseases associated with viral infections are a collateral outcome of the parasitic nature of these pathogens.

 Koch’s postulates helped to identify causal relationships between a microbe and the disease it causes in the host, although these postulates may not be fulfilled when associating some viruses with a particular disease.

 Major insights in viral pathogenesis have come from exploitation of technical advances in the fields of molecular biology and immunology.

 The increased mobility of human and animal populations on the planet has accelerated the emergence of epidemics.

 Many viruses that can infect multiple species establish a reservoir in an animal host in which the virus causes negligible disease. Spread into new human hosts, called a zoonosis, is usually a dead-end infection.

 Epidemiology, the study of infections in populations, is the cornerstone of public health research and response.

 Individual differences among prospective hosts, group dynamics and behaviors, geography, and climate all influence how efficiently a virus can establish infection within a population.

 The regional occurrence of viral infections may be due to the restriction of a vector or animal reservoir to a limited geographical area.

 Seasonal differences in the appearances of some viruses may be due to variations in viral particle stability at various temperatures or humidity, changes in the integrity of host barriers (such as the skin or mucosa), or seasonal changes in the life cycles of viral vectors, such as mosquitos.

 Susceptibility to infection does not necessarily signify susceptibility to disease.