Why are viruses obligate intracellular parasites?
Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that can be maintained only inside living cells. Whern we refer to something as “obligate” that indicates that the virus (in this case) must do or behave in the specified manner. Since viruses are obligate intraellular parasites, the term conveys the idea that viruses must carry out their reproduction by parasitizing a host cell. They cannot multiply outside a living cell, they can only replicate inside of a specific host.
