Hantaviruses are a group of microscopic RNA viruses in the family Hantaviridae that are carried mainly by rodents. These viruses are extremely small—typically about 80–120 nanometers in diameter—and are surrounded by a lipid envelope covered with glycoprotein spikes that help them attach to host cells. Inside, they contain single-stranded, negative-sense RNA divided into three segments, along with proteins that protect and organize the viral genome. Similar to other viruses, hantaviruses cannot reproduce on their own and must invade living cells to replicate, relying entirely on the host’s cellular machinery to produce new virus particles.
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