A virion is an assembled virus particle: the physical package containing its genome and associated structural components. The term focuses attention on a particle, rather than the entire intracellular replication process. Some virions also carry a viral envelope, while the composition of the internal package depends on the virus.[ref]
Orthomyxoviridae report by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Virion and Fig. 1, genome-associated components and envelope
A particle can contain machinery as well as genetic instructions. In 1970, researchers detected RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity in vesicular stomatitis virus particles. The RNA product was largely complementary to the genomic RNA, supporting the idea that an incoming Negative-sense RNA genome brings a transcription activity with it.[ref]
Ribonucleic acid synthesis of vesicular stomatitis virus, II. An RNA polymerase in the virion by D. Baltimore and others. Abstract, particle-associated activity and complementary product
The distinction matters for measurement. Detecting viral nucleic acid, observing particles and demonstrating infection answer different questions. A counted genome need not establish that a complete particle was assembled, and a structural image alone does not measure successful infection in a specified host. An experiment should state which of those objects or activities it actually detects.
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