Medication And Viral Infections

Antiviral drugs are a class of medication that helps the body fight off destructive viruses. The medications can alleviate symptoms and lessen the duration of a viral illness. As a result, the body can better combat these disease-causing viruses. In addition, antiviral drugs can also prevent you from getting infected by a particular virus or passing the virus to another person. Several viral diseases, such as HIV, hepatitis, and herpes, do not have a cure. However, these illnesses are less likely to be acquired or spread with antiviral medications. Although antiviral drugs alleviate the symptoms and reduce the viral load, the virus remains in your body (Zou et al., 2019). The drugs act by making the virus latent (inactive), resulting in the host experiencing minimal, if any, symptoms.

Antiviral medications are challenging to create because viruses inside cells are more difficult to target. In addition, a particular antiviral drug can treat only one type of virus. A good example of antiviral medication is HIV-1 Antiretroviral Drug Therapy. When used correctly, these medications can reduce HIV-1 replication to near-invisible levels. An ever-increasing understanding of HIV-1 replication has been instrumental in this effort by giving researchers the knowledge and resources necessary to pursue drug development efforts centered on targeted suppression with specialized pharmacological agents. Antiviral medications have proved effective in numerous studies. HIV-1 therapy, as demonstrated by Koethe et al. (2020), may be among the most effective treatments for any human disease, infection, or dysfunction.

Conclusively, antiviral drugs can treat some viruses and eliminate their symptoms. They can be used to treat persons who have recurring viral infections, preventing the virus from spreading and causing harm. The drug also reduces the likelihood of a host passing the virus on to someone else (Zou et al., 2019). On the other hand, it is possible to develop antiviral resistance if you take antiviral medications for a long period of time or do not take them as prescribed.

Reference

Koethe, J. R., Lagathu, C., Lake, J. E., Domingo, P., Calmy, A., Falutz, J., … & Capeau, J. (2020). HIV and antiretroviral therapy-related fat alterations. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 6(1), 1-20.

Zou, X., Wu, J., Gu, J., Shen, L., & Mao, L. (2019). Application of aptamers in virus detection and antiviral therapy. Frontiers in microbiology, 10, 1462.

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Question

Step 1: Research some medications that claim to minimize viral infections once the diseases have started.

Provide an example of one of these medications
Discuss the claims for these medications
Include whether or not there is any evidence to support these claims