The field of virology encapsulates the biological makeup of submicroscopic infectious agents called viruses, including all aspects of their evolution, physiology, and distribution. The modern world calls for continued virology research as pathogens develop into diseases that can kill entire populations of people. Some instances of such powerful viruses include HIV, COVID-19, and Hepatitis C, all of which have claimed countless lives. However, the invention of several vaccines greatly improves the lives of those that are affected.
In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner invented the first vaccine. While it started out as him simply noticing that the people immune to smallpox were the people also infected with cowpox, the vaccine industry has grown to produce over $1 billion in revenue today. Vaccines are carefully manufactured so that they place a weakened version of a virus into a person’s body. A regular virus can replicate thousands of times in a body as the infection grows, but in the case of a vaccine, the replication occurs around 20 times. This is enough for the body to produce “memory B cells” so it is prepared to fight a possible infection in the future. Overall, vaccines help protect the body.
Works Cited
Burrell, C. J., Howard, C. R., & Murphy, F. A. (2017). History and impact of virology. Fenner and White's Medical Virology. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7150216/#:~:text=Why%20Study%20Virology%3F,%2C%20a%20half%2Dcentury%20ago.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. (2014, November 19). How are vaccines made? Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/making-vaccines/how-are-vaccines-made
Virus. Genome.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Virus
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