eli5: If viruses aren’t living organisms like bacteria and parasites, how can it be airborne? Viruses can only survive in the body, so how can it be lingering around outside of the body?

Question

eli5: If viruses aren’t living organisms like bacteria and parasites, how can it be airborne? Viruses can only survive in the body, so how can it be lingering around outside of the body?

In: Biology

Answer 1

They’re not “alive” but they do have different degrees of robustness depending on their preferred method of transmission.

Some are very fragile and cannot survive even momentary exposure to atmospheric oxygen and sunlight. Others are more protected by layered shells and can last for a while out in the wild before they degrade.

They don’t die since they weren’t alive, but they can chemically or physically break from harsh conditions and lose their infectious ability.