I wish to reply you on this @kingabesh
viruses are not in themselves living organisms. they are merely the coming together of biomelecules which tend to assume function only when they find themselves in a cell. this simply means that outside a cell, a virus is dead and even inside the cell, it is at the mercy of its environment which is the cell.

they can neither reproduce on their own nor undergo their own metabolism. to me, they are just objects causing problems for the real living things