Which virus damages immune system cells so that the body cannot fight infection or certain cancers

Which virus damages immune system cells so that the body cannot fight infection or certain cancers

• A. HIV
• B. Hepatitis
• C. Contamination
• D. Pathogen

Answer: (A)

The situation tests how a virus can weaken the immune system by attacking the very cells that coordinate immune defense. The virus that fits this description is the one that specifically targets CD4+ T helper cells, which are crucial for directing other immune responses. It binds to the CD4 receptor and a co-receptor on these cells, enters, and uses its genetic material to replicate, gradually destroying the helper T cells. As their numbers decline, the body loses its ability to mount effective responses against many infections and certain cancers, leading to the defeats of immunity seen in advanced infection. That’s why this virus is HIV. Hepatitis viruses mainly damage liver cells rather than immune cells, so they don’t produce the same kind of systemic immunodeficiency. Contamination and pathogen are broad terms that don’t describe a specific virus with the described effect, so they don’t fit the scenario.

The situation tests how a virus can weaken the immune system by attacking the very cells that coordinate immune defense. The virus that fits this description is the one that specifically targets CD4+ T helper cells, which are crucial for directing other immune responses. It binds to the CD4 receptor and a co-receptor on these cells, enters, and uses its genetic material to replicate, gradually destroying the helper T cells. As their numbers decline, the body loses its ability to mount effective responses against many infections and certain cancers, leading to the defeats of immunity seen in advanced infection. That’s why this virus is HIV.

Hepatitis viruses mainly damage liver cells rather than immune cells, so they don’t produce the same kind of systemic immunodeficiency. Contamination and pathogen are broad terms that don’t describe a specific virus with the described effect, so they don’t fit the scenario.