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Micro World

How small is a cowpox virus?

A cowpox virus is about 250 nm long.

What is measured: brick-shaped poxvirus particle, length

Cowpox Virus (250 nm) drawn to scale beside a flu virus (100 nm) and an E. coli bacterium (2 µm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Flu virus (100 nm), Cowpox Virus (250 nm) and E. coli bacterium (2 µm).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 2.5× the width of a flu virus
  • About 8 would fit end to end along an E. coli bacterium
  • About 10× the width of a ribosome

Learn

Facts about Cowpox Virus

Edward Jenner used cowpox virus to create the world's first vaccine, protecting against smallpox.

Source: ViralZone, SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics; CDC Poxvirus overview

Micro World

NameSizeCompared with Cowpox Virus
Silica Nanoparticle100 nm0.4×
Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle100 nm0.4×
Lassa Virus100 nm0.4×
Hantavirus100 nm0.4×
Nuclear Pore Complex120 nm0.48×
Cowpox Virus250 nmthis page
Collagen Fibril300 nm1.2×
Vaccinia Virus300 nm1.2×
Lysosome500 nm2×
Mimivirus750 nm3×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Cowpox Virus or Collagen Fibril?

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