Question

i) Give any three examples for the most infectious diseases in man and their causative agents.
ii) To discover medicine for viral infected diseases like AIDS is more difficult than other diseases. Is the statement true or false? Discuss.

Answer 1

i) Dengue caused by dengue virus, AIDS caused by Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and smallpox caused by variola virus are some examples of the most infectious diseases in man.

ii) This statement is true. Usually antibiotics target bacterial cell membrane receptors or their replicating mechanism. But virus attack the host cell and make their own copies. Hence, to develop antiviral drugs we have to either destroy the host cell or target the enzymes that help in replication. Hence, it is difficult to develop antiviral drugs.