Segmentation and identification of rotavirus-A in digital microscopic images using active contour model

Abstract

A virus is an infectious agent too small to be seen directly with a light microscope. They are not made of cells and can only replicate inside the cells of another organism (the viruses’ host). Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and these minute structures are the most abundant type of biological entity. Viruses consist of two or three parts: all viruses have genes made from either DNA or RNA, long molecules that carry genetic information; all have a protein coat that protects these genes; and some have an envelope of fat that surrounds them when they are outside a cell. Viruses vary from simple helical and icosahedra shapes, to more complex structures. Most viruses are about one hundred times smaller than an average bacterium. Viruses spread in many ways; plant viruses are often transmitted from plant to plant by insects that feed on sap, such as aphids, while animal viruses can be carried by blood-sucking insects. Infl uenza viruses are spread by coughing and sneezing.