Antimicrobial - Antivirals

Antivirals

Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used specifically for treating viral infections. Like antibiotics, specific antivirals are used for specific viruses. They are relatively harmless to the host, and therefore can be used to treat infections. They should be distinguished from viricides, which actively deactivate virus particles outside the body.

Many of the antiviral drugs available are designed to treat infections by retroviruses, mostly HIV. Important antiretroviral drugs include the class of protease inhibitors. Herpes viruses, best known for causing cold sores and genital herpes, are usually treated with the nucleoside analogue acyclovir. Viral hepatitis (A-E) are caused by five unrelated hepatotropic viruses and are also commonly treated with antiviral drugs depending on the type of infection. influenza A and B viruses are important targets for the development new influenza treatments to overcome the resistance to existing neuraminidase inhibitors such as oseltamivir.

Antiviral drugs work by inhibiting the virus before it enters the cell, stopping it from reproducing, or, in some cases, preventing it from exiting the cell. However, like antibiotics, viruses may evolve to resist the antiviral drug.