Virus Story

The Virus Story - draw it out & make it better! - for you!! - (click on image to enlarge)

Icosahedral Viruses – all RNA viruses, all +
First, draw a hexagon (I know it’s not an Icosahedron, deal). Draw a dotted line down the middle (the “Great Naked Divide”) – now remember Everybody’s naked on the West Coast (tough stretch… I know), but in the East, everyone wears Envelopes.

1) PICO
A very sick boy named PICO POLIO who can’t walk. That’s why he rides a RHINO. He drinks saki (COXSACKIE), but someone has put feces in his saki. Now he has Hep A (fecal-oral transmission). He complains of his aching stomach and yells “Oh…Oh…Oh…” which sounds like an ECHO.
He decided to go to Cali(ci) (i.e. California) for a 2nd opinion.
2) CALICI
He arrives at NORWALK for his 2nd opinion and is told he doesn’t have Hep A, he has Hep E (still fecal-oral)
Bothered by the news he decided to go south.
So he hops on the Reo.
3) REO
Going down the river isn’t quick – it takes 10-12 days (segments). (Rotavirus has exactly 11 segments and is the only human Reovirus of concern).
After arriving down south he meets a foxy NAKED lady named ROTA.
They hook up and have a baby, which happens to suffer from infantile diarrhea…
They decide to leave the south and go to Colorado so they DOUBLE BACK (Reo & Rota = only double stranded RNA viruses) on the Reo to CO where they both get the Colorado Tick Fever.
CO didn’t treat them well so they decide to go back South to New Orleans, LA
4) TOGA
They find a Toga Party and decide they want to put on a toga (they’ve crossed the Naked divide, so everything is no longer naked, they’re ENVELOPED) & party…
A few drinks and a few months later they find themselves with 4 more really sick kids: EEE, VEE, WEE (Eastern, Venezuelan, & Western Equine), and RUBY (who can’t see – cataracts, or hear – deafness, and has a bad heart – PDA). Incidentally, kid with the most Es dies first (EEE more fatal).
Tired of the South, once again, they decide to go to D.C.
5) RETRO
(DC because Retroviruses have Double Copies of RNA strands)
In DC, being the partiers they are, they find a Retro party, drink some more, and have a “swinging” good time… They catch HIV and HTLV…
Finally tired of the party scene they move their sick family to the Midwest where it’s “safe”
6) FLAVI
They go west (West Nile) to St. Louis. When they arrive in St. Louis (St. Louis Encephalitis) they are hungry so they go to a JAPANESE restaurant called FLAVI, which we’ll pretend is along the West Nile (West Nile Virus). The waiter recommends a drink to the couple called YELLOW DENGE. It’s full of C, they say, only it turns out to be Hep C and not Vitamin C. They order it and live SICKLY EVER AFTER…