Antiviral Agents, Vaccines and Immunotherapies

Vaccination refers to the process of administering vaccines for preventing infectious diseases. It is credited for the elimination of smallpox from the world and controlling diseases such as polio, measles, and tetanus. Injections are the most commonly used techniques for delivering vaccines into the human body. The treatment of diseases by suppressing or activating the immune system is known as immunotherapy or biological therapy. Immunotherapies that elicit or magnify an immune response are called activation immunotherapies, whereas those immunotherapies that diminish or suppress the immune system response are called suppression immunotherapies. Cell-based immunotherapies are helpful in various types of cancers. Antivirals are medications that help the body fight against certain viruses. They are the result of a vast body of knowledge of genetics and molecular functions of organisms, which allow the biomedical researchers understand the function and structure of viruses, which, in turn, helps in the discovery of new drugs. This book elucidates the concepts of antiviral agents, vaccines and immunotherapies, and their practical applications. It will help the readers in keeping pace with the rapid changes in medical microbiology.