What is human rhinovirus?

Viruses are everywhere in our lives and are an important destructive factor that threatens people's health. Therefore, people should improve their protection in life and try not to be infected with some malicious viruses. However, viruses are tiny and difficult to detect, and are often hard to guard against. Especially human rhinovirus, a virus that is transmitted through the air, is more harmful. Let’s take a look at what human rhinovirus is.

Human rhinovirus is a species of the Picornaviridae family and the genus Rhinovirus, and is the main pathogen of the common cold in humans.

The differences from enterovirus are as follows:

① Not acid-resistant, easily destroyed in pH 3-5 solution;

② Human kidney cells can only reproduce well in rotating cultures at 33°C, while enterovirus can reproduce in static cultures at 36-37°C;

③High specific gravity, the buoyancy density of cesium chloride is 1.38~1.42. Rhinoviruses are antigenically complex, with more than 100 serotypes. Immunity can be acquired after infection, but it is short-lived. There is little cross-protection between different types of rhinoviruses, so people can catch a cold many times. There is no specific prevention or treatment for the common cold.

Infection and Epidemiology:

The virus is transmitted in two ways: one is through droplets and aerosols; the other is through contaminated surfaces, including direct person-to-person contact.

Human rhinoviruses are prevalent worldwide and are one of the most important etiologies of the common cold. Symptoms include: sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing and coughing; some patients also experience muscle aches, fatigue, weakness, headache, muscle weakness, loss of appetite, etc. Influenza is often manifested by fever and extreme fatigue.

Rhinovirus infection can confer immunity, but the immunity is short-lived. There is little cross-protection between different types of rhinoviruses, so people can catch a cold many times. There is no specific prevention or treatment for the common cold.

The rhinovirus itself is a non-enveloped icosahedral structure with a genome length of 7.2-8.5kb and a single-stranded positive RNA genome. The 5' end of the genome encodes viral proteins, and like mammals, the 3' end of the viral genome also has a polyA tail structure. The 5' region encodes structural proteins, and the 3' region encodes nonstructural proteins. This is true for all viruses in the Picornaviridae family. The virus first transcribes a long single-chain polypeptide, which is then broken into different structural or non-structural proteins.