HLTH 101 Lecture Notes - Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy, Human Papillomavirus Infection, Intracellular Parasite
16 Oct 2011
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Topic 5: the ecology of the human body and. Infectious organisms can be classified in a number of ways. In this course, i have chosen to classify them according to their size first, and then according to their taxonomic classification: subcellular organisms. In fact, these are not technically organisms but are complex microscopic agents that usually (but not always) reside within living cells) We"ll discuss two main types: viruses and prions. Exist basically as rna or dna molecules (generally not both) encased inside a coat of protein. About 1500 viruses have been identified (so far), only a small number of which are believed to affect human health. Viruses have a simple existence outside host cells. They are obligate intracellular parasites, which means that they must enter the host cell to reproduce. All cells are susceptible to viral infection. Even single celled organisms such as bacteria can be infected with viruses (bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria)
