Microbiology

Microbiology Study Guide

to be less round than normal cells and may have certain chromosomal abnormalities, such as an unusual number of chromosomes and/or fragmented chromosomes. Control of Viral Replication Viruses must take over the host cell in order to multiply. One of the side effects of using antiviral drugs is that they interfere with host cells and are therefore too toxic for clinical use. This is why there are so few antivirals compared to antibacterials (antibiotics). Most antiviral drugs are used to treat HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS. Antiretroviral drugs are used to treat HIV infections. Antivirals that target more general (non-HIV) infections are called nucleoside and nucleotide analogs. Acyclovir is used to treat genital herpes as well as most other herpes infections, especially in immunosuppressed individuals. Famciclovir and ganciclovir are similar to acyclovir in that they inhibit DNA or RNA synthesis but can be taken orally. Cidofovir is used to treat CMV infections and may be effective against smallpox. Zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu) are used to treat influenza. Interferons inhibit the spread of the virus to new cells. Alpha interferon is used to treat viral hepatitis infections.

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