Tracking a Virus
Students simulate the spread of a virus such as HIV through a population by "sharing" (but not drinking) the water in a plastic cup with several classmates. Although invisible, the water in a few of the cups has already be tainted with the "virus" (sodium carbonate). After all the students have shared their liquids, the contents of the cups are tested for the virus with phenolphthalein, a chemical that causes a striking color change in the presence of sodium carbonate. Students then set about trying to determine which of their classmates were the ones originally infected with the virus.
A newly made HIV virus is shown in this photomicrograph, immediately after being released from the infected immune cell just below it.Copyright NIH
Biomedical engineers and pharmacologists continue to work on developing a cure for AIDS. An understanding of the biological mechanisms behind the disease are crucial to develop a vaccine.
After students complete this activity, they will be able to:
- Describe the type of work that epidemiologists do.
- Describe what a virus is.
- Explain how a virus replicates itself once it attaches to a host cell.
- Describe how the immune system responds to a viral invasion.
- Explain why the HIV virus is unique and not readily eliminated by the immune system.