Why is it difficult to treat a viral disease?
341814
"Also, we have never been able to cure a viral disease, only vaccinate against them."\n\nThis is incorrect; antiviral drugs are available, now.\n\nIn Australia, you can buy antivirals at the pharmacy to treat "cold sores" caused by Herpes simplex.  There are other drugs used by doctors now, too.  One of my colleagues was treated with them, when she contracted "chicken pox" (Herpes zoster) as an adult, a few years ago; she was very ill, needing to be in hospital.\n\nHIV infection is also treated with HAART now; highly active anti - retroviral therapy.  HIV is a RNA virus, you see; a retrovirus.\n\n(No; it doesn't wear loud 70's fashions!)\n\n:-)\n\nAntibiotics do not work against viral infections.
908702
It is long standing and generally does not go away.\nIt requires treatment for a long time.  The cost of treatment of a chronic illness is much higher than treating an acute illness.\nChronic illesses tend to progress (Huntington's, MS, ALS etc.)
131194
Most doctors are not willing to prescribe tamiflu for anyone not sick and needing the aniviral at that moment.  The manufacturer of the drug became upest with so many Docs in the US giving tamiflu to people to have around "just in case" and cut supplies to the US as a result. The Federal and some state governments are also stocking up on the drug incase of an outbreak futher tighening current avaliblity of the drug. So with the lower supply few doctors are willing to do so now.
10206
Unfortunately, HIV is able to alter itself when it reproduces, so finding a vaccination is difficult, because vaccinations have to be very specific to the virus' structure. Another unfavorable situation is that virus are so small, it is very difficult to study them without killing them first-they cannot be observed on a normal microscope like bacteria can. So studying what will be affective against them in a laboratory is difficult. Also, as opposed to bacteria, which are closer in structure to plants-viruses are made up of closer to the same things animals are made of, so finding things that will work on the virus without killing or damaging the person, too-is difficult. Therefore, most likely-cures and vaccines are probably far off in the distant future. However, new and more effective treatments are very possible. The average life span of persons infected with HIV has increased tremendously. Science is becoming much better at treating the opportunistic diseases and conditions that are caused by HIV infection. So the good news for your friend is that his/her chances of living a longer and healthier life with HIV are better than they ever have been.
648398
HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) presents a number of challenges to finding a cure:\n1) Whenever you get a virus or bacterial disease, the medicine that you received typically doesn't kill the virus or bacterial directly. Instead it helps your immune system fight it by making it more difficult for the virus to reproduced or a range of other techniques. Your immune system will do still most of the work in defeating the infection. The HIV virus attacks the immune system. As it result this reduces the effectiveness of most traditional techniques.\n2) It mutates quickly. A drug that work effectively now will eventually stop working (in the case of AIDS it stops working even before the person infected is cured of the HIV virus requiring drug cocktails and other techniques)\n3) Because of 2 many slight variation of the virus exist out there. An effective vaccine would have to target most or all of them. This is a problem because the best treatments for a virus is a vaccine. \nThat there is no cure for a disease is not uncommon. There is no cure for the flu, a virus that kills more people every year in the US than does AIDS. There is no cure for the common cold (another virus), herpes (another virus), malaria (bacteria), ...
680724
The difficulty is that technology only gives the power to change. It takes humans to decide which direction to change. Those that love power will use the technology to extend their power rather than to help others. There *have* been many advances made in the treatment of illnesses. Nobody today dies of smallpox. Nobody gets crippled by polio. Nobody goes deaf from mumps. Places with famines can get food shipped in to them.\n\nIn the past, if a crop failed (and this was common), people starved to death. Every place on earth was subject to this fear every year. Even the kings would have the fear of going without at times. Diseases were common and women died regularly in childbirth.\n\nSo, yes, there are diffciulties made by technology, but there are benefits also. The problem is people, not the technology.
739052
You suffer till the rest of your life. There are no complete cure for most viral infections and it will stay for ever causing repeated painful blisters. Certain bacteria are becoming drug resistant and they are difficult to cure and they spread to other organs. The cost of treatment is also becoming highly expensive. \nPlease see the webpages for more details on STD.
340622
Chlamydia and gonorrhea require one very potent dose of antibiotics, then it takes a week to clear.\n\nSyphilis requires one (painful) shot of Bicillin G (a type of penicillin), and three MONTHS of followup to make sure the bacteria have been decimated in your body.\n\nHerpes is not curable, but can be treated with suppressive therapy. That means daily doses of cyclovir-class drugs (Valtrex, Famvir, Zovirax).\n\nHPV is not curable, but requires a lot of followup to make sure it's not progressing to cancer. Warts can be removed surgically.\n\nHIV is not curable, but HAART (highly active anti-retroviral therapy) drugs can limit viral load and prevent decimation of immune cells.
1080802
Actually you can, there are some anti-virals available depending upon the illness.  Ask your doctor for more info if you think you might need one.
160246
It depends on which one you are refering too.  Some can be with a combination of meds and therepy.  Others though have no cure at all but can be controlled with medication.  And there are others that there is no treatment whatsoever that works for them.
649594
Yes. They are working on prevention. It is always better to prevent disease and illness rather than cure it once it is obtained. What would you rather have? A chance to prevent getting Herpes and HIV or a cure once you got the disease? Do your part and be responsible to prevent it. Everyone has that responsibility. Do not expect scientists to find a cure for saving your health and life soley. Everyone needs to prevent themselves and others. Scientists try very hard and often successful at cures and prevention (such as immune vacinations). They are only one component to the disease process. If people can prevent getting disease and spreading it, there will not be a need for "cure". Awareness, education and safe practice is key.
118371
There are several alternative treatments that have been yielding encouraging evidence in controlling the virus.\n\nYou may visit the source website below for further description of these.
837756
HIV used to be a death sentance. But treatment is much improved.\n\nhttp://www.webmd.com/content/article/5/1680_50172.htm
51448
Might be several reasons for that. Treatment will depend on that, see links below. The Medline link: Click in the left menues to see subcategories.
317117
the illness is generally self-limited, you don't have to do anything, but resting and dont do to much excercise.\n\nthe only therapy you can give is an antiviral therapy.\nCurrently, there are several agents available for the systemic therapy of CMV infection, including ganciclovir, valganciclovir, foscarnet, and cidofovir. The efficacy and toxicities of these agents have been evaluated extensively only in immunocompromised patients. The clinical utility of these agents in the immunocompetent host remains unproven.
522329
The reason for the spread of HIV, where ever a person might live, is pretty much the people's own actions.  With the info we have now, barring blood transfusions (and even then rare since blood is tested) and freaky things like a maniac poking someone with an infected needle, the disease is almost 100% preventable. It is quite simple.  Don't hop into bed with everyone you see.  Don't do intravenous drugs.  How hard is that?
50702
It is a good subject for a good discussion but I fail to see hwo it fits with a school science project. You would not be able to work with the virus at this level, and I am not sure you have the time to do a medication study.\n\nI would suggest a public health style approach and do research into the advances in treatment and survival rates.