The current status of antiviral therapy is reviewed, including discussion of older approaches together with more recently developed chemotherapy. Following the introduction dealing with pathophysiological aspects of virus disease, the different approaches to antiviral therapy are presented. The reasons for the slow progress in antiviral therapy are discussed. These include: 1. the necessity of ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency of complications and adverse outcomes due to herpes zoster ophthalmicus before and after the introduction of oral antiviral medications in a community-based setting. METHODS We identified all Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents diagnosed with acute herpes zoster ophthalmicus from 1976 through 1998. The frequencies of complications within 6 months of disea...

UNLABELLED Perinatal or mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains the major risk factor for chronic HBV infection worldwide. In addition to hepatitis B immune globulin and vaccination, oral antiviral therapies in highly viremic mothers can further decrease MTCT of HBV. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize the evidence on the efficacy and ...

Background: Sodium valproate (VPA), an anticonvalsant drug, has been reported to stimulate viral replication.  A combination therapy with VPA and acyclovir (ACV) is used for the treatment of herpesvirus encephalitis, the commonest sporadic encephalitis of viral origin. Objective: To determine a possible interaction between VPA and ACV leading to a modification of antiviral activity of ACV. Meth...

Several large observational, longitudinal studies of the natural history of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) have demonstrated that high levels of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication are associated with long-term risk of cirrhosis, decompensation, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver-related mortality. The corollary is also true-profound and sustained suppression either spontaneously or during antivira...

OBJECTIVES We aimed to evaluate and compare non-adherence to oral and inhaled antiviral therapies prescribed of a randomised clinical trial in outpatients with influenza A infection. DESIGN A parallel, three-arm, double-blinded trial randomly allocated antiviral therapies twice daily for 5 days: (1) oral oseltamivir plus inhaled zanamivir (arm OZ); (2) oseltamivir plus inhaled placebo (arm Op...

Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease worldwide [1]. More than 3 billion people in >120 countries are at risk from dengue with 50–100 million infections each year, of which >2 million will have severe dengue infection, including dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Dengue is a disease with great morbidity, but fortunately only <25 000 die of the di...