| Sumario: | Approximately 200 viruses cause human diseases, from common colds to certain cancers. Viruses cannot replicate outside their host's cells; instead, they subvert the patients' cellular machinery to create new viral particles. While researchers and clinicians, including nurses, have made considerable progress in tackling viral infections, a combination of rapid replication and errors copying the virus's genetic code often produces mutations that are resistant to initially promising vaccines and antivirals. However, recent studies that decipher the viral genome help clinicians optimize treatment efficacy, trace the spread of diseases, and explain why new pandemics emerge. Viruses and their hosts have co-evolved for millions of years, and humans developed several lines of antiviral defences-and these lines continue to evolve as, for example, viruses change to overcome modern treatments. Studies into the interactions between viruses and their host cells helps explain, for example, why some people do not contract HIV despite being at high risk for many years. Scientists also identified numerous variations (polymorphisms) in the genes encoding human antiviral defences that help determine clinical and therapeutic outcomes. Understanding the genetics and lifecycle of viruses helps nurses understand the clinical consequences of viral infections, suggest or prescribe the most effective approaches to management, and identify opportunities to augment infection control. As this feature illustrates, the risk of infection, the severity of the resulting disease, and the effectiveness of treatment may depend on the interplay between two genomes.
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