Hiya, Poptropicans! If you haven’t already read the first part to this series, make sure to go check it out! As a disclaimer once again: I’m not an expert in this area, but rather I’m an Animal Science student who would like to share some things I’ve learned! Anyway, let’s pick up where we left off…
Ah yes, if viruses are so hard to fight, then what do we do? We use vaccines! The most popular form of vaccine includes a very weak form of the virus that your body can destroy easily, while preparing for any future attacks. This is called an “artificially acquired active immunity.” Let’s break this down: it’s artificially acquired because you don’t get the virus naturally; it’s injected into you by your choice. It’s an active immunity, which means that your body will produce very specialized antibodies to fight the virus, along with lymphocytes (these are part of your immune system, or the system in your body that fights disease). Once you get a vaccine, you’re protected really well! Again, the only reason the flu vaccine is only partially effective is because the flu mutates, so there are a bunch of different kinds to fight.
The next section is the tutorial, and all I can say is…oof. This image is completely, 100% inaccurate. Viruses are much, MUCH smaller than your body’s red blood cells (the cells that transport oxygen). And okay, you say, well this is a game, not real life! That’s true, but the fact viruses are so tiny is vital to how they work and how to understand them. With normal microscopes, you can’t even see them at all. As mentioned in the previous post, viruses have to live and use your cells to survive – they are “obligate intracellular parasites.” Many viruses can be contained in one cell, so for a virus to be bigger than a cell doesn’t make sense. Plus, there’s not much of an excuse for Poptropica to do this. The island would also be super cool with the player being tiny and fighting viruses within cells themselves. It could teach about cell parts, along with the immune system!
