Description
The mother of a 3 year old girl brings her child in for an evaluation of “a wart on her thumb. It has been present for 3 to 4 days and seems to cause some pain. The week prior, the child had a “head cold and Cold sores” around her mouth, all of which had resolved. The mother explains that her daughter has had cold sores before, but has never A had warts, and the mother states that the child is otherwise healthy. On examination you see a well appearing child who is sitting in her mother’s lap and sucking her thumb Her head and neck exam are normal. On her left thumb, just proximal to the base of the thumbnail, is the lesion about which the mother is concerned. It is a cluster of small vesicles with a faint area of surrounding erythema (redness). You send some of the vesicular fluid for viral culture. The Virology Laboratory reports that the specimen is positive for the DNA virus, Herpes Simplex 1.
1.How was the virus transmitted to this child’s thumb A Why did the child experience a reoccurance of the “Cold Sores”? What is the viral mechanism involved? EXPLAIN.
2.After infecting a cell, what Replication Strategy does this virus use once inside a target host cell? Does this virus Destroy the cells it infects? EXPLAIN.
3.Herpes Simplex Virus is also capable of causing Systemic Infections which can ultimately target the Central Nervous System. EXPLAIN the steps involved in such an infection, and how does the virus ultimately get to it’s “target organ”?
4.How do Chronic Viral Infections differ from the type of infection caused by Herpes Simplex Virus, in this case history? EXPLAIN.
5.Explain the role of Interferon in the early stages of viral infection. What effect does Interferon have on Host cells? In what ways does Interferon make th? Adaptive Cell Mediated immune response more efficient in eliminating virus infected cells?
