Virheluottuvuus

Virheluottuvuus is a term used in Finnish virology and epidemiology to describe the capacity of a virus to cause disease in a host, as well as its potential to spread within a population. The expression is not part of a standardized international nomenclature, and in formal texts scientists more often use terms such as virulenssi (virulence), patogeeni-ness (pathogenicity) or infektiivisyys (infectivity) depending on the aspect being discussed. Virheluottuvuus can be thought of as an overarching concept that links how a virus interacts with a host organism and how effectively it transmits between hosts.

The concept encompasses several interrelated dimensions. Pathogenicity refers to the ability of the virus to cause disease and the resulting clinical severity. Virulence describes the severity of disease caused by a virus once infection occurs. Transmissibility or transmission efficiency concerns how readily the virus spreads between individuals. Tissue tropism indicates which tissues or organs the virus targets, while replication rate and immune evasion describe how quickly the virus replicates and how well it can resist host immune responses. Together, these factors determine the overall impact of a viral threat in a given setting.

Measurement of virheluottuvuus relies on laboratory studies, animal models, clinical observations, and epidemiological data. Researchers use a combination of experimental results and population-level metrics (such as secondary attack rate, reproduction number, and case fatality rate) to infer viruluottuvuuden components. Variation in host genetics, immune status, age, and environment can modify the expressed virulence and transmissibility. See also virulentti, patogeeni-isyys, infektiivisyys, and virulenssi.