**4. Conclusions**

Viruses remain just one of the many etiological factors such as environmental stimuli, infection, genetic predisposition, cytokine activity, etc., which contribute to the development of autoimmune disease. Of the many mechanisms by which an infecting agent can induce an autoimmune reaction, molecular mimicry is probably one of the most common in viralinduced immunity. Over time, the development of chronic viral infections contributes to the development of a defective immune system, the accumulation of which gives rise to overt clinical illness. Thus, the study of infectious agents that play a role in the pathogenesis of this process is not only important to identify high-risk patients but also necessary in preventing the process of disease through medications. Prevention of such autoimmune abnormalities in general and virus-associated autoimmune phenomena in particular would be a great achievement in the field of autoimmunity.

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