16^th International Virology Summit

Novel Antiviral Therapies

Antiviral therapy is one of the most exciting aspects of virology, since it has successfully employed basic science to generate very effective treatments for serious viral infections. Most drugs and vaccines, however, selectively target a single virus, thereby providing a “one drug-one bug” solution. In contrast, broad-spectrum antivirals (BSAs) can cover multiple viruses and genotypes and reduce the likelihood of development of resistance. Therefore, some BSAs can be used for the rapid management of new or drug-resistant viral strains, for a first-line treatment. There are two types of anti-viral therapies depending on the type of virus, they are: "episodic" oral antiviral therapy (where antiviral therapy is used intermittently by the patient during a recurrence), or "suppressive" antiviral therapy (where the antiviral therapy is taken continuously to prevent recurrences).