Question

How do you cure a virus?

Answer 1

Virus:

1. Viruses are non-cellular, microscopic infectious agents that are capable of replicating inside a host cell.
2. They cannot be either living organisms or non-living.
3. Viruses use the cellular machinery of the host cell for replication and hence, antibiotics do not work on viral infections.
4. They contain genetic material in the form of DNA or RNA and need to enter a live host cell to be able to replicate.
5. Antiviral drugs: Medicines that act directly on the virus, preventing its growth.
   1. They act by inhibiting the increase of the viral particles and by preventing the replication of viral DNA.
   2. They prevent the entry of the viral particles into more of the host cells and isolate the virus so that it loses its living source.
   3. Example: zanamivir, peramivir, etc.