zika virus effects on adults

recently there has beena lot of talk about measles. what does measles actually do,and should you vaccinate against it? or is this just hysteria? measles is a virus: a hull of proteins, rna, plus some more proteins for reproduction. it cannot reproduce by itself;it needs a host cell to do so. to understand measles, we have tounderstand the immune system. you might already have seen

the visual system we developedto help here. now, let’s focus on the parts ofthe immune system relevant to measles. the measles virus enters humansthrough the nose, mouth, or eyes. the measles infection starts in the lungs. measles is especially good at infectingthe body’s first line of defence: macrophages, powerful guard cellsthat protect the lungs from intruders. they enter a cell and take it over. the virus reprograms the cell and transforms it into a dangerousvirus production center.

once a cell is filled with viruses, they leave the crippled celland begin the cycle over again. but the immune system haspowerful weapons against virus infections: natural killer cells. these cells basically patrol the bodyand check other cells for infections. if they find an infected cell,they order it to commit suicide. this is so effective that forthe first 10 days or so, you will not even notice thatyou’re infected with measles. and now, the reason why measlesis so powerful.

after a period of fighting and dying, macrophages alert the brain of theimmune system: the dendritic cells. the job of the dendritic cells isto collect samples of intruders, travel to the lymph nodes, and then activate the heavy weapons that eradicate the infection very fastin a team effort. but the measles virus usesa dreadful tactic. it infects the dendritic cells

and uses them as a trojan horseto enter deeper into the body. the infected cells travel to the next lymph node to alert other immune cells. once it arrives, the measles virus spreads around thevirgin t and b cells and infects them. it attacks the very system thatevolved to fight it. now, things happen very fast. the lymph system spreads the viruseverywhere

and it enters the bloodstream, infecting cells while traveling. measles infects organs like the spleen, the liver, the intestines,and, most importantly, the lungs. the symptoms range from a very high fever, headache, sickness,bronchitis, and, of course, a rash. in the lungs, the immune system wasdoing pretty okay. but now, millions of virusesattack a second time and kill countless cells, wiping outthe defense systems.

in this phase, you start coughing outmillions of measles viruses. measles is so contagious at this stage, that if you meet someonewho isn’t vaccinated, there’s about a 90% chanceyou’ll infect them. without the protective army in the lungs,other bacteria or viruses that would usually not stand a chance cannow enter the lungs and develop into harmful parallel infections thatcan cause pneumonia, the most common way todie from measles. your body’s immune system is nowseriously wounded.

various protective systems are hurtand disrupted. the virus spreads everywhere, infectingthe skin all over the body. the typical measles rash nowbecomes visible. and in some cases, the measles virus reaches the brain and causesa brain infection. if it does so, the chances of dyingare between 20 to 40 percent, and there may be long-term damage. but your body is far from givingup at this stage, and it fights back agressively.

some dendritic cells survivelong enough to activate the anti-virus forces of the body. plasma cells in the lymph nodesstart producing billions of antibodies, tiny proteins that mark infected cellsfor destruction or clump the virus together. killer t cells flood the bodyand kill infected cells left and right. after 2 to 3 weeks, the body usually gets the upper hand and overwhelmsthe infection. but the immune system is nowseriously weakened,

and may take weeks or months to recover, leaving the body vulnerableto other diseases. but, if you make it, you are now immune: the immune system remembersthe virus forever. measles is no joke. although 84% of all humans arevaccinated against measles, 122,000 people died becauseof the infection in 2014. some people cannot get vaccinations, either because they’re too young,because of chemotherapy or hiv,

or because they’re allergicto the vaccine. they need the rest of us tostop the disease for them. the measles vaccination issafe, cheap, and available. there are no benifits from havingmeasles at all. you don’t strengthen your immunesystem and it’s not more natural. most people who don’t vaccinateonly want the best for their children, which is honorable. but if you ask yourself, “am i putting the life of my childand other children at risk by

not vaccinating against measles?” the sad answer is yes. yes, you are. let’s not play the blame game, though. let’s work together anderadicate this virus. together, we can get rid of thesedreadful monsters and consign them to their rightful place:the history books. subtitles by the amara.org community

Posted by exco

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