The three most common viral diseases in humans

Viruses are perfectly designed to fulfill a single objective: infecting us and causing different diseases.

Human beings have lived with viral diseases since time immemorial. The cold is the most prevalent of all, and together with the other two they complete the frequency podium.

There are viruses that are more common than others and have a greater distribution. We have all heard of the flu, for example, whether we live in America, Europe or Asia.

Knowing the enemy

As usual in this type of subject, it never hurts to remember a little what a virus is and how it works. We won't dwell on it much:

Viruses are microscopic acellular agents that can only reproduce within the cells of an organism.

They are made up of DNA or RNA, and proteins that give them a three-dimensional structure, a physical form.

These microscopic organisms sequester the host's infected cells: they replicate their own genetic information in them and are released to infect other cells and organisms.

Thus, the existence of a virus cannot be conceived without its host. Furthermore, there is an interesting debate about whether to even consider them living beings. Beyond questions that border the philosophical field, it is time to focus attention on the three most common viral diseases in humans.

The most common viral diseases

The common cold

The common cold is a type of respiratory infection that takes the crown as far as prevalence is concerned. According to studies compiled by the PMC, it affects adults two to six times a year and children six to ten. We go further, because this pathology is the cause of 30% of truancy and 40% of work.

There are more than 200 types of serologically different viruses that cause the common cold. Still, the most common is the genus of rhinoviruses, which cause more than 50% of typical clinical conditions.

Rhinoviruses are made up of a capsid with four types of proteins and a single-stranded RNA molecule, giving them a circular shape similar to that of a golf ball.

The characteristic symptomatology of the common cold is, unfortunately, known to all: cough, nasal congestion, pharyngitis and sneezing. A curious fact is that, due to the immense amount of viruses that generate this pathology, a vaccine is totally unfeasible.

The flu

Influenza is an infectious disease caused by influenzavirus A or influenzavirus B, genera of the Orthomyxoviridae family. These viruses are more complex than the causative agents of the cold, since they present seven or eight fragments of reverse RNA instead of a typical chain. Its shape is also tiny and spherical.

Influenzavirus B is less aggressive and has a lower mutation rate than influenzavirus A. The only animal capable of becoming infected with this virus, other than humans, is the seal.

The global incidence (that is, the number of people who are suffering it at any given time) is estimated at 20%, but in certain population groups it can reach 50%. These data cause vertigo, since in the moments of greater prevalence (in winter) up to half of a specific group can have the flu.

The symptoms are known to everyone again: very similar to that of the cold, but with a greater indisposition and associated fever.

Viral gastroenteritis

Although perhaps a little anticlimactic, we end this space with viral gastroenteritis. This pathology is the cause of 70% of diarrhea in pediatric age groups globally.

Norovirus is the largest causative genus of RNA virus, causing 90% of outbreaks in the United States. Typical symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and liquid diarrhea.

Although being infected by this pathogen can be extremely uncomfortable, the prognosis is very positive. It is estimated that in two or three days most people recover without major complications.

A world of microorganisms

As we have seen, there is a huge world of viral diseases. There are many types of pathogens that generate common pathologies known to all, but luckily, the prognosis of patients who contract it is usually always positive.