Creature Feature: Viruses — Junior SeaDoctors

Over the past few months, a new virus has affected nearly every aspect of our daily lives. As an ever-curious Junior SeaDoctor, you may have started to wonder about viruses. What exactly are they, and where can they be found? Are they a part of the Salish Sea ecosystem just like eelgrass or killer whales?

Small but Mighty

Though viruses are our featured “creature” this month, they technically aren’t even alive. That’s right! A virus is just strands of genetic material. Genes are tiny coders, but instead of coding for computer programs, they code for proteins, and these genes hang out inside a protein coat called a capsid-a gene jacket! Viruses are smaller than 500 nanometers (it would take 50 million of them to stand in line across the top of your pencil), so even the biggest ones are too tiny to see with a regular microscope.

So how can such a tiny, simple germ that isn’t even alive reproduce and spread?

Well, when viruses infect something with cells - like a plant, animal, or even bacterium - they have to hijack those host cells to multiply. Viruses depend on energy and dna (more genes) from whatever they are infecting in order to reproduce and spread. Some viruses are responsible for causing diseases like measles, chickenpox, and yep, COVID-19.

Other viruses may not cause us any harm at all, or only make us sick if we’re stressed and have weakened immune systems (eat your veggies!). Viruses can also be used for good. For example, cancer researchers harness the power of viruses to carry and deliver drugs to sick human cells!

Click this image to go to Biologycorner.com for a coloring activity to learn more about how viruses infect cells. Diagram by Biology Corner

What do viruses, Pacific spiny lumpsuckers, and humpback whales have in common?

They’re all found in the ocean, and more specifically, in the Salish Sea! Around 200,000 different types of viral populations can be found in the ocean. For millions of years, they’ve been floating around in the ocean from the surface waters all the way down to the ocean’s deepest depths. In fact, there are so many that if you added up the weight of all the viruses in the ocean it would equal the mass of about 75 million blue whales! That means marine wildlife have lived among viruses forever. Sometimes they even get sick from viruses, just like we do.

While this may seem scary, it’s rare that a massive viral outbreak occurs in the ocean. Epidemics, or disease outbreaks, do occasionally happen under the sea, though. We have seen viruses affect harbor seals (phocine morbillivirus), sea stars (a mysterious densovirus), and herring (viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus), among others.

Sunflower stars infected by a mysterious densovirus, causing flesh to dissintegrate and arms to come off . Photo by Jenn Collins

Sometimes stress caused by something like ocean warming can make animals more susceptible to infection by viruses or give the viruses a boost. This reminds us why it is important to take care of the ocean. We don’t want our actions (like pollution, climate change, or ocean noise) to make animals more stressed and therefore more likely to get a viral infection. Luckily, many Salish Sea heroes are paying attention to what we can do to help the ocean and all of its creatures. You can be a Salish Sea hero, too! Right now that includes staying home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, so scientists, wildlife vets, and volunteers can return to our boats, docks, and beaches as soon as possible.

COVID-19 and You

The COVID-19 pandemic can be overwhelming to think about. Here are a few terms you may have heard on the news or in conversation. Keep scrolling down for some tips to get through these strange times while helping others.

COVID-19 = The disease that is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 (see below). CO stands for corona, VI for virus, D for disease, and 19 for 2019 (the year when the first cases were seen).
SARS-CoV-2 = The name of the virus that causes the disease COVID-19. Short for ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.’ Often shortened to ‘coronavirus’ or the ‘new coronavirus.’
Coronavirus = Just like there are many types of whales or salmon, there are many different coronaviruses that can cause disease in mammals and birds. Many types of colds and flus are caused by coronaviruses. SARS-CoV-2 is a newly discovered coronavirus. “Corona” means crown and refers to the crown-like spikes on their surface.
Epidemic = A big cluster of disease cases occurring together; more specifically, an increase in the number of cases of a disease beyond what is normally expected in a certain area.
Pandemic = An epidemic that spreads around the world.
Incubation Period = The amount of time it takes to show symptoms after you are exposed to the virus. For COVID-19, this period is estimated to be 1 - 14 days.
Quarantine = When people who have possibly been exposed to a disease, but who are not yet showing symptoms, are separated to see if they become sick.
Isolation = When sick people are separated from healthy people.
Social distancing = Keeping a 2 m (6 ft) distance between yourself and others to prevent contact with other people’s cough and sneeze droplets, and vice versa (this is how SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted).
Stay at home or shelter in place = Stay home except for non-essential tasks, like going to the grocery store or picking up medications at a pharmacy. It’s okay to go outside for a walk or to play, but practice social distancing if you do. And if you need to go to the grocery store - only go if you really need things, just send one person, and buy enough so you don’t have to go back for a week.
Naive = We humans are naive to the new coronavirus - but that doesn’t mean we’re unwise! It means we have never been exposed to this virus (through a vaccine or previously having the disease), so our immune systems don’t have an existing memory of how to fight it.

What can I do to help?

A porch in Anacortes, WA where the whole block decorated with lights and prayer flags to spread joy. Flowers and soil await potting as neighborly gifts. Photo by Mira Castle

Stay positive, and spread your positivity to others! Though we don’t know how long this pandemic will last, we know it is temporary.
Call, video-chat, text, or write real letters to your relatives and friends. Do it often.
Use the tools above to reach out to a few people that you haven’t seen in a long time - former teachers, cousins, great aunts, old friends who have moved away. Everyone likes to know that someone is thinking about them.
Help your family around the house. Use some of your newfound free time to take on extra chores and help your parents out. They need you!
Keep your brain busy with books and learning activities (if you are reading this, you’re probably ahead of the game). It’ll make your parents and teachers super happy and keep you from getting bored.
Thank the healthcare workers, pharmacy staff, mail delivery people, grocery store employees, sanitation workers, and police officers in your life! These people are working overtime to keep us all happy and healthy.
Don’t assign blame. Some people called this a Chinese virus, which is not the truth and not nice. Viruses don’t have citizenship - the whole world is in this together, so this is the time for us to stick together and support each other.
We like this comic that National Public Radio made for kids from 3 interviews they did with health and social sciences experts: Click here for the Coronavirus comic