A virus is a microscopic particle that can infect the cells of the body, commonly breaking them up and causing the cell's death. The body's immune system responds to this attack by producing white blood cells (leukocytes) and antibodies to fight the infection, which in turn leads to inflammation, causing symptoms of pain, swelling, fever and redness.
Examples of common human diseases caused by viruses include the flu, glandular fever, chickenpox, mumps, measles and shingles. More serious diseases such as AIDS, Ebola, SARS and bird flu are also caused by viruses. Some viruses such as the herpes simplex virus, which cause coldsores, can remain in a dormant state within the human body, reappearing every so often to cause an outbreak of the disease.
Although patients often ask for (and doctors often prescribe) antibiotics, they are completely ineffective against viruses. Their misuse against viral infections is one of the causes of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
In this section, you can find out more about the many viral infections, with information on their causes, symptoms and diagnosis, along with some handy tips on their treatment.
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