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Awoken virus
This story is not about The Virus. John Cunningham (JC) virus is usually asymptomatic. But chances if you have been exposed to this invisible enemy in your youth, you still carry it dormant inside your body. This virus may provoke life-threatening irreversible brain damage.
JC virus is one of nine new viruses infecting humans that were discovered in 1971. Almost 90% of the world’s population carries a life long-dormant non-pathogenic JC virus. Many questions remain unanswered regarding these new nine viruses that affect humans, for example, the latency of these recently recognized viruses, disease-causing potential, and causes for reactivation.
An old virus, Chickenpox, for example, is a childhood infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Symptoms of Chickenpox are hard to miss; rashes had been recognized and described since ancient civilizations. After an initial infection of chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in the human body for life. Occasionally this virus reactivates and causes shingles if the immune system of its host is weakened due to age, immunosuppression, genetics, or certain medications. Although painful condition, shingles usually are not life-threatening.
