The world is full of microscopic organisms, like viruses, that can cause illness and disease in humans. Exploring virus examples and the differences between viruses and disease can help you better understand which serious illnesses could actually affect you.
Viruses That Cause Infectious Diseases in Humans
An infectious disease can be spread directly or indirectly from person to person. Most people are more familiar with the disease name rather than the virus name.
You've probably heard about most of these common viruses and the diseases they cause:
Virus: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
Disease: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Virus: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
Disease: AIDS
Virus: Rotavirus
Disease: Viral gastroenteritis
Virus: Influenza A
Disease: The flu
Virus: Ebola virus
Disease: Ebola virus disease
Virus: Marburg virus
Disease: Marburg virus disease
Virus: Dengue virus
Disease: Dengue
Virus: Flavivirus
Disease: Yellow Fever
Virus: Enteroviruses
Disease: Viral meningitis
Human Tumor Viruses That Cause Cancer Diseases
Human tumor viruses cause about one fifth of cancers. These viruses infect their host cells but don't kill them. Some human tumor viruses can cause more than one type of cancer, which is considered a disease.
A few human tumor viruses include:
Virus: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)
Cancer Diseases: Burkitt's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Virus: Human papillomavirus 16 or human papillomavirus 18 (HPV)
Cancer Diseases: Cervical carcinoma, anal carcinoma, penile carcinoma
Virus: Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)
Cancer Diseases: Kaposi's sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma, multicentric Castleman's disease
Virus: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV)
Cancer Disease: Hepatocellular carcinoma
Virus: Human adult T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1)
Cancer Disease: T-cell leukemia
Animal Viruses That Cause Human Diseases
Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases in animals that can cause human diseases when spread to humans.
You may have heard of these diseases that have transmitted to humans in the past:
Virus: Influenza type A (transmitted from pigs)
Disease: Swine flu
Virus: Avian influenza type A (transmitted from birds)
Disease: Bird flu
Virus: MERS coronavirus (transmitted from bats and camels)
Disease: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)
Virus: Hantavirus (transmitted from mice and rats)
Disease: Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)
Virus: SARS coronavirus (transmitted from bats)
Disease: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
Human Health Concerns
Knowing which viruses can be harmful to people and which ones you don't need to worry much about can help you get a handle on your own health concerns. Continue your health education by learning things like common medical abbreviations.