Brainiacs that know a thing or two about viruses please respond: Can virus be "killed"?

Question

I just bought some clorox "Clean-Up Cleaner with Bleach" from QFC and right on the top theres a little sticker that says "KILLS FLU VIRUS!" (yes theres even an exclamation point")

welll..... i thought viruses are pretty much indestructable? and that theyre like ultra-complicated compared to a cell. If clorox bleach can kill the flu virus, then does that mean that Clorox has found the cure for the common cold (which i thought was indestructable also)

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Answer 1

first thing first don't take clorox, to cure a flu. drink lots of vitamin c, chicken soup, take some multi vitamins an minerals, get lots of rest and grind it out. think recovery thats the fastest way to cure the common cold....don't ever use bleach or drink bleach you'll kill yourself....it doesn't cure it kills.....

Answer 2

Yes, a virus can be killed in the sense that you can inactivate it. This is done by irreversibly damaging a surface/coat protein required for host cell entry or binding. Remember a virus is just DNA/RNA packed in a protein coat, so anything that prevents the surface proteins from doing their job will "kill" a virus. Also if the genetic material is damaged enough that would work too. Daylight kills the Hanta virus, so even the worst viruses can be "killed". Clorox has not found a cure, bleach will kill just about anything including you if given even a small amount.

Answer 3

Viruses are digested by white blood cells. Clorox is a bunch of c**p.

Answer 4

Viruses are NOT indestructible, and they are much simpler in structure than a cell.

Bleach, excessive UV radiation, and a variety of other things will kill viruses by denaturing their proteins, destroying their DNA or RNA genome, etc.

However, these things are also toxic to other organisms - you cannot give someone bleach to drink to cure their cold.

Answer 5

inside your body viruses are destroyed when antibodies recognise their antigenic markers. since a flu virus is constantly mutating, it's antigenic markers become different, and aren't recognised by antibodies anymore. (this is why you can catch the flu more than once)

however outside the body, the virus can be easily destroyed by denaturing its protein coat, or it's body if you will. this can be done by a change in pH, temperature or however else your bleach works. however if you tried to swallow or inject some of it into your body, it would kill the virus, but also be pretty dangerous for your life.

apart from this, viruses are much less complicated than a cell, they need host cells to survive and replicate.

i hope you understand now that unfortunately clorox isn't a way to go against your cold, but it's good to prevent spreading viruses in your environment.

Filip