How Do Viruses Infect the Body?
Viruses can enter the human body through any of its openings, but most often they use the nose and mouth. Once inside, the virus attaches itself to the outside of the kind of cell it attacks, called a host cell. For example, a rhinovirus attacks cells in the nose, while an enterovirus binds to cells in the stomach and intestines. Then the virus works its way through the host cell’s outer membrane. After entering the cell, the virus begins making identical viruses from the host cell’s protein. These new viruses may make their way back out through the host cell’s membrane, sometimes destroying the cell, and then attacking new host cells. This process continues until the body develops enough antibodies* and other defenses to defeat the viral invaders.
