Antiviral drug
hideAntiviral drugs are a class of medication used specifically for treating viral infections. Like antibiotics for bacteria, specific antivirals are used for specific viruses. Unlike antibiotics, antiviral drugs do not destroy their target pathogen but inhibit their development.
Antiviral drugs are one class of antimicrobials, a larger group which also includes antibiotic, antifungal and antiparasitic drugs. They are relatively harmless to the host, and therefore can be used to treat infections. They should be distinguished from viricides, which are not medication but destroy virus particles outside the body.
Most of the antivirals now available are designed to help deal with HIV, herpes viruses (best known for causing cold sores and genital herpes, but actually causing a wide range of diseases), the hepatitis B and C viruses, which can cause liver cancer, and influenza A and B viruses. Researchers are working to extend the range of antivirals to other families of pathogens.
Designing safe and effective antiviral drugs is difficult, because viruses use the host's cells to replicate. This makes it difficult to find targets for the drug that would interfere with the virus without harming the host organism's cells.
The emergence of antivirals is the product of a greatly expanded knowledge of the genetic and molecular function of organisms, allowing biomedical researchers to understand the structure and function of viruses, major advances in the techniques for finding new drugs, and the intense pressure placed on the medical profession to deal with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of the deadly acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic.
Almost all anti-microbials, including anti-virals, are subject to drug resistance as the pathogens mutate over time, becoming less susceptible to the treatment. For instance, a recent study published in Nature Biotechnology emphasized the urgent need for augmentation of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) stockpiles with additional antiviral drugs including zanamivir (Relenza) based on an evaluation of the performance of these drugs in the scenario that the 2009 H1N1 'Swine Flu' neuraminidase (NA) were to acquire the tamiflu-resistance (His274Tyr) mutation which is currently wide-spread in seasonal H1N1 strains.
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News tagged with antiviral drug
Ukraine calls for help fighting swine flue
Nov 01, 2009 |
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Ukraine made an urgent appeal to world powers for help battling swine flu on Sunday, after 60 people died from respiratory problems in a week.
H1N1 simulation modeling shows rapid vaccine rollout effective in reducing infection rates
Oct 13, 2009 |
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Early action, especially rapid rollout of vaccines, is extremely effective in reducing the attack rate of the H1N1 influenza virus, according to a simulation model of a pandemic outbreak reported in a new study in CMAJ (Canad ...
CDC: 25 cities and states order swine flu vaccine
Medicine & Health / Medications
Oct 01, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Twenty-five cities and states have ordered swine flu vaccine, and the first doses should be administered Tuesday, officials said Thursday.
Frozen assets: Researchers turn to unique resource for clues to norovirus evolution
Oct 01, 2009 |
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A search through decades-old frozen infant stool samples has yielded rich dividends for scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The team ...
It pays to be careful post-kidney transplant
Sep 18, 2009 |
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For kidney transplant recipients, infection with a virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) may lead to devastating complications. New research suggests that extending the period of preventive treatment after kidney ...
Study: New drug fights flu as well as Tamiflu does
Medicine & Health / Medications
Sep 13, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A new flu medicine may be on the way. Researchers say the experimental drug peramivir (purr-AM-uh-veer) works as well as Tamiflu for clearing up flu symptoms.
'Dung of the devil' plant roots point to new swine flu drugs
Sep 09, 2009 |
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Scientists in China have discovered that roots of a plant used a century ago during the great Spanish influenza pandemic contains substances with powerful effects in laboratory experiments in killing the H1N1 ...
First human gets new antibody aimed at hepatitis C virus
Aug 06, 2009 |
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Building upon a series of successful preclinical studies, researchers at MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) today announced the beginning of a Phase 1 clinical trial, testing the safety ...
Study: Pregnant women with swine flu more at risk
Jul 29, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Pregnant women who get swine flu are at least four times as likely to be hospitalized as other people with the virus, a new study says.
Flu strains developing resistance to key antiviral drug: WHO
May 12, 2009 |
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Development of a swine flu vaccine was partly triggered by evidence that seasonal influenza strains are developing resistance to antiviral drug Tamiflu, a World Health Organisation expert said Tuesday.
Added anti-viral improves response, halves duration of hepatitis C treatment
Apr 30, 2009 |
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The addition of the anti-viral drug telaprevir to a standard treatment for hepatitis C can shorten the duration of therapy and increase the number of patients who can be cured of their disease, according to the results of ...
Swine flu fears close schools in NY, Texas, Calif.
Apr 27, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Esti Lamonaca's illness started with a high fever, a cough and achy bones, just a couple of days after she returned from a spring break trip on the beach in Cancun with friends. By the weekend, her ...
Study shows workplace benefits of influenza vaccination in 50-64 year olds
Jan 13, 2009 |
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Workers age 50-64 who received influenza vaccine lost substantially fewer days of work and worked fewer days while ill, according to a new study in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online. Given ...
Study: Excessive use of antiviral drugs could aid deadly flu
Jan 07, 2009 |
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Influenza's ability to resist the effects of cheap and popular antiviral agents in Asia and Russia should serve as a cautionary tale about U.S. plans to use the antiviral Tamiflu in the event of widespread ...
