Viral Infections Summary Viruses are capsules with genetic material inside. They are very tiny, much smaller than bacteria. Viruses cause familiar infectious diseases such as the common cold, flu and warts. They also cause severe illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, smallpox and hemorrhagic fevers. Viruses are like hijackers. They invade living, normal cells and use those cells to multiply and produce other viruses like themselves. This eventually kills the cells, which can make you sick. Viral infections are hard to treat because viruses live inside your body’s cells. They are “protected” from medicines, which usually move through your bloodstream. Antibiotics do not work for viral infections. There are a few antiviral medicines available. Vaccines can help prevent you from getting many viral diseases. NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Specifics About Human Parainfluenza Viruses (HPIVs) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acute Flaccid Myelitis Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Enterovirus D68 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MedlinePlus: Croup National Library of Medicine Molluscum Contagiosum Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Non-Polio Enterovirus Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tropical Spastic Paraparesis National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke What Is Enterovirus D68? American Thoracic Society Children Adenovirus (For Parents) Nemours Foundation Caring for Your Child’s Cold or Flu American Academy of Pediatrics Coxsackievirus Infections (For Parents) Nemours Foundation Enterovirus (For Parents) Nemours Foundation Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease Logical Images Human Parainfluenza Viruses Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Roseola (Sixth Disease) Logical Images Viral Exanthem Logical Images Start Here Bacterial vs. Viral Infections: How Do They Differ? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Understanding Microbes in Sickness and in Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Find an Expert Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Foundation for Infectious Diseases National Foundation for Infectious Diseases National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Clinical Trials ClinicalTrials.gov: Adenoviridae Infections National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Coxsackievirus Infections National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Enterovirus National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Virus Diseases National Institutes of Health Array ECHO virus Enterovirus D68 Hand-foot-mouth disease Herpangina Molluscum contagiosum Parainfluenza Roseola Zika virus disease Encyclopedia ELISA Lymph node culture Subacute thyroiditis Prevention and Risk Factors Help Control Mosquitoes that Spread Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika Viruses Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MedlinePlus: Germs and Hygiene National Library of Medicine MedlinePlus: Infection Control National Library of Medicine Images Molluscum Contagiosum Logical Images Viral Exanthem Logical Images Journal Articles Viral Infections
