Why are viruses hard to kill? Virologists explain why these tiny parasites are so tough to treat
The human body has evolved defense systems to protect against these kinds of infections.
But viruses are sneaky, Glaunsinger said, and are often able to fly under the radar and cause a lot of damage before any alarms are triggered and any reinforcements are called in. By the time an immune response kicks in, it’s often too late. “There’s a lot of data coming out that some of the damage might be due to a very strong and brisk immune response, where the body is fighting back and sort of throwing everything it has at the virus,” said Dr. Adam Lauring, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “While that may control the virus, it also causes a lot of damage to the lungs.
“The earlier you take the drugs, the better, but by the time someone comes into a clinic, there’s already been a lot of growth of the virus, so drugs may slow the virus down, but it may be too late to stop the damage at that point,” Lauring said. But because viruses hijack human cells, antiviral drugs can’t readily target those same features without doing even more damage to the host. Viruses are also more varied, so even pathogens that are closely related — such as the current coronavirus and the coronavirus that causes SARS — don’t necessarily respond to the same treatments. Similarly, drugs that are used to treat the herpes simplex virus aren’t effective against other herpes viruses.
Even where antiviral drugs are available for some viruses, they don’t necessarily cure the infection. Drugs used to treat HIV, for instance, are effective at suppressing virus replication, but don’t eradicate it. Seasonal influenza can be treated with an antiviral medication called Tamiflu, which can help shorten the duration of the illness, but it’s common to be able to detect the virus even after a patient recovers, Lauring said.
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