antiviral | Common News Update

By Catrin Rutland, news reporter HIV is mutating and becoming increasingly resistant to current drugs, the World Health Organisation has warned.In a new report, the WHO said all antiretroviral drugs, including newer ones, are at risk of becoming totally ineffective due to the virus evolving. Experts have told Sky News that such drug resistance could be a "barrier to ending the epidemic" and "we have crossed the line". Image: A study shows unacceptable levels of resistance against two of the main drugs used by HIV patients. File pic The problem is particularly acute in parts of sub-Saharan Africa where up to 30% of the population have HIV - the virus which can lead to AIDS.A four-year study from 20...

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A study in mice by the National Institutes of Health has uncovered a potential broad-spectrum antiviral that may be effective against herpesvirus.Two-thirds of the world's population are infected with HSV-1 and roughly 500 million have HSV-2, according to the World Health Organization.When a person is infected with the herpes simplex virus, or HSV, the virus can persist in the body in a latent form, which can reactivate, causing recurrent infection.HSV can cause a variety of diseases, including oral cold sores, genital lesions, serious eye conditions and blindness.Recurrent HSV can lead to ocular HSV infections causing corneal scarring, and neonatal infections can lead to developmental delays, neurological issues and death. People infected with HSV are also at an increased...

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‘Crossing a line’: Mutating HIV could make anti-viral drugs ineffective

Herpesvirus study leads to discovery of broad-spectrum antiviral