A didactic proposal for understanding the structure and action mechanisms of viruses and its relationship with the development of new vaccines

Abstract

A simple virus model is presented to support the understanding of teachers and students about themes such as the antigenic shift process through genetic rearrangement, the arising of virus, (for example SARS-CoV-2) and the potential changes they undergo, through the use of models, argument and the formulation of an explicative model. Students are graphically guided to build a model of virus (bird, mammal and human virus) to understand the intermediary host or “mix reservoir” in which the antigenic changes occur, leading to a new virus strain, like the one from influenza pandemic in 2009 and the one of our interest in this issue. The sequence is based on the solution of a problem -stated in the generator question-, aiming at all times to the integration and critical application of the acquired knowledge.