What are antiviral agents?
Viruses require host cells to replicate. This can make control of viral replication difficult in some cases. There are several classes of antiviral agents effective against viral replication in the human body. Each class has a different mode of action.Protease InhibitorsThe protease inhibitor class of antiviral drugs stops viruses from replicating copies capable of infecting the host. These drugs get prescribed as part of a cocktail with other drugs in people who have contracted human immunodificiency virus (HIV).Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase InhibitorsWhile the previous class works on an enzyme called protease for inhibition of infective viral replication, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors end the process of DNA replication in the virus, resulting in incomplete genetic information. This causes ineffective virus particles to be reproduced.Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase InhibitorsThis class of reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTI) have the same function as the nucleoside
