Viruses cause viral infections, or viral illnesses.
Many viral infections have no specific therapies.
Instead, the focus of treatment is on symptom relief while the body naturally gets rid of the infection.
But some viral illnesses can only be treated in a certain way; examples include valacyclovir for herpes infections and oseltamivir for influenza.
A family of drugs called antiviral medicines is used to treat viral illnesses.
The majority of antivirals focus on clear-cut illnesses, but a wide range of antivirals are effective against a variety of contaminations.
Antiviral medications, in contrast to most anti-contamination experts, don't completely eradicate the target microorganisms; instead, they restrict its ability to proliferate.