title: Antivirals: past, present and future.
abstract: Vaccination is possible to prevent infections with some viruses: hepatitis B virus (HBV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), influenza A and B viruses, Yellow fever virus and poliovirus; but not for others: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and most hemorrhagic fever viruses (HFV) (except for Yellow fever virus). Antiviral therapy is obviously needed to control those infections that are not amenable to prophylaxis by vaccination, but is also highly desirable for those infections where vaccination has not been implemented or did not fulfill its premises for complete protection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Belgium. erik.declercq@rega.kuleuven.be
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Clercq
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014780:Viruses / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents