Vaccines work by introducing biological materials into the body to produce specific immunities. They are most effective when introduced several months before encountering microbes in a real-world setting. For instance, the influenza vaccine...
Human deficiency virus, or HIV, is the virus that leads to AIDS. The diseases destroy cells of the immune system, leaving patients vulnerable to infection. According to AVERT, the international AIDS charity, there were 33.4 million people...
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that progressively destroys CD4+ lymphocytes, making the body susceptible to attack by foreign, infectious agents and numerous forms of cancer. Maturation is the last step in the HIV life cycle....
There are over 100 different strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), and 40 of these strains have the ability to infect the anogenital area. Of these, type 6 HPV is one of the more common strains. Infection with type 6 HPV can cause warts to...
AIDS begins with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. As the virus progresses and enters its last stage, it becomes AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. While HIV makes a person more susceptible to infections, AIDS is life-threatening,...
Bacteria come into contact with foreign DNA in a variety of ways. For instance, viruses can infect bacteria, and when they do, they inject their genetic material, or DNA, into the bacterial cell. As a protective mechanism, the bacteria use enzymes...
Hepatitis C is inflammation of the liver caused by a virus. The liver is a vital organ responsible for controlling infection, removing toxins, aiding digestion and making proteins. The virus can be spread through sexual contact, from an infected...
According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 500,000 Americans experience their first episode of cold sores each year. From 20 to 40 percent of these people go on to develop recurrent episodes of cold sores. In such...
In the February 2008 edition of the "Journal of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine," researchers Paolo G. Arduino, D.D.S., M.M.Sc., and Stephen R. Porter, D.D.S., Ph.D., report that 70 to 80 percent of adults test positive for exposure to the herpes...
Escherichia coli are healthy, rod-shaped, bacterial flora that populate the human digestive system within hours of birth. In 1885, German pediatrician Thomas Escherichia isolated the bacteria in the colons of newborns. These healthy bacteria...
