Viruses: Viroids and the Affected Organisms Research
We discuss three acellular infectious agents in this module – viruses, prions and viroids. Infection by any one of these can have serious consequences to human health and/or economic wellbeing. In the event of an outbreak, it is important to be able to identify and contain these pathogens to avoid potentially deadly outbreaks. Your assignment is to choose one of the three infectious agents and consider the epidemiological features of your selection. By epidemiological features we mean: Can you characterize the causative organism? Where does the disease come from? Who is affected? How do they acquire the pathogen? What are the symptoms and risk factors? How is the disease dealt with once it is discovered in order to prevent its spread? You can choose one pathogen based on the general scenario described below.
For this assignment you now work for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service. You have been assigned to characterize a new epidemic that has spread rapidly at a farm in Montana. You arrive at the farm observe the livestock, crops and farm workers for signs of illness. You sample the fluids and tissue of several affected organisms and bring them to a state-of-the-art USDA laboratory for analysis. The outbreak is fictional but all the information – from the organism, to how it is acquired, to the symptoms it causes – should be legitimate for the infectious agent. I have intentionally left out these and other details in the scenario. You will fill in the details in your essay by addressing the following questions.
•What is the affected organism (animal/plant/human or any combination)?
•What are the symptoms exhibited by the affected organism(s)?
•What is the pathogen that you have identified after analysis of the infected material?
•How where you able to identify the agent in a laboratory?
•Describe the etiology. How did the infection make its way to the farm?
•Trace the fictional outbreak from its origins either locally, nationally or internationally.
•Knowing how the infectious agent is disseminated, what recommendations do you make to the farm manager for containment and treatment of infected organisms?
Text book used: Willey, J. M., Sherwood, L. M., & Woolverton, C. J. (2014). Prescott's Microbiology 9th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Please visit the Excelsior Library to find at least 3 suitable citations to support the information you provide as you portray this outbreak.
Your essay should be 2-3 pages in length, double spaced in a 10-12 point font. Please be sure to cite all sources of information, including the text book, in the essay text and on a reference page using APA format.
Viruses
Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Professor
Course:
Date
Introduction
The viroids are considered to have a unique structure that is comprised of evolutionary and functional characteristics. Additionally, the viroids also comprise of single stranded, non-protein coding that have an autonomous replication (Willey, Sherwood, & Woolverton, 2014). Viroids rely on their host factors in order to complete their infectious cycle since they lack their own proteins. In order to effectively carry out their movements, the viroids interact with other host factors that are unknown.
As a worker with the United States Department of Agriculture Research Services, I intend to conduct a research study on the epidemiology of the viroids. This study will in this case include the evaluation of factors that result in infections by this virus including the factors that affect the transmission of these organisms. On the other hand, the study will additionally establish the aspects that are associated with clinically recognizable diseases on an infected element.
Viroids and the Affected Organisms
As determined, the viroids are tiny and infectious agents of plants that primarily consist of very small nucleotides. The viroids are known for their lack of protein-coding, a factor that makes them mimic other structural features of RNAs (Willey, et.al.2014). On the other hand, viroids have the capacity to redirect their existing host as a means of replicating and spreading. This factor results in the development of severe diseases that result in phytopathological problems.
In characterizing a new epidemic that has widely spread in one of the firms in Montana, I discovered that some of the affected plants were potatoes. Potatoes are considered as vegetatively propagated crops with the viroids primarily infecting their tubers. In this case, the tubers play a significant role in the spread of this virus. This disease is considered to be mechanically transmitted through contacts with the healthy and the diseased plants, cutting knives, tractor wheels and so on (Katsarou, Wu, Zhang, Bonar, Morris, Hedley, & Hornyik, 2016). The viroids therefore reach their greatest concentration on the leaf hairs. The viroids are found on the potato plants in the upper leaves and tubers and passes through the ovule and pollen. It was established that some of these viroids have destructive consequences since they affect stems, leaves and reserve organs and that would result in foliations.
Symptoms Exhibited By the Affected Organism
It is vital to consider that some of the symptoms exhibited by the affected organism include the phyllotaxy of the plants foliage, a factor that is apparent when the organism is viewed from above. The organism’s foliage in this case remains spindly and upright often resulting in a dark green and slightly rugose texture (Katsarou, et.al.2016). The accumulation of pigments right at the top of the stems is also one of the symptoms of this organism that is often accompanied ...