EVOLUTIONARY ARMS RACE BETWEEN VIRUS AND HOST

EVOLUTIONARY ARMS RACE BETWEEN VIRUS AND HOST

Vaccines are the agents that give us protection from infectious agents upon introduction into our body. Several vaccines have been successfully used against various infectious pathogens and have thus substantially increased human life-span. However, have you ever thought why vaccines against several pathogens such as Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) are not developed yet? Why do HCV patients develop resistance against antiviral drugs? Or why do people repeatedly get flu? The answers lie in a natural process called continuous evolution of the infectious organisms. Viruses are some of the smallest organisms found in the universe and are considered as connecting link between living and non-living world. This is because they can not replicate (make more of the same virus particles) outside a suitable host organism, but gain life inside them. They infect plants, animals, humans and even amoeba and bacteria. Viruses evolved millions years ago either from complex molecules of protein and nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) before appearance of cell on earth, or from escaped nucleic acid from the genes of a larger organism..........

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