Exploring Virus Taxonomy, Nomenclature, and Classification.

Taxonomic classification is the scientific study that categorizes organisms into their appropriate taxonomic hierarchy based on unique characteristics aiding in identifying new organisms. Virus taxonomy provides a framework that integrates the biological, clinical, and evolutionary attributes of viruses. This comprehensive understanding holds great practical values. For instance, when a virus transition occurs from an animal reservoir to humans, a taxonomic perspective helps us determine its origin, its host, replication and reproduction mechanisms, its disease-causing properties, and human responses to infection. This, in turn, enables us to develop treatments and design vaccines more effectively. This chapter discusses how to explore novel and known viruses and their potential classification and taxonomy using the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses web portal.