Hepatitis B virus. Coloured transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of hepatitis B viruses (circles), a cause of liver inflammation. The inflammation i

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Hepatitis B virus. Coloured transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of hepatitis B viruses (circles), a cause of liver inflammation. The inflammation is the immune response to the virus that invades liver cells to replicate itself. The virus has a coat (capsid, purple) bearing surface proteins (spikes, mauve), which the body detects as a foreign body (antigen). The complete virus is called a Dane particle and is approximately 42 nanometres in diameter. Hepatitis B is primarily transmitted by infected human blood, either in transfusions or on the shared needles of intravenous drug users. Magnification unknown.

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Size: 2500px × 3679px
Photo credit: © LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: antigen, antigens, biological, biology, capsid, causing, coat, coloured, dane, disease, electron, hepatitis, infection, infectious, liver, microbiology, micrograph, multiple, particles, pathogenic, protein, tem, transmission, virion, virology, virus, viruses