10 Viruses With Medical Uses

5. Herpes simplex.

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Genital herpes is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases in the world. It is commonly marked by pain and sores around the genitals, or fever blisters around the mouth, depending on the type, HSV-2 or HSV-1 respectively. On the brighter side, an injectable drug has been developed from the Herpes simplex virus to treat melanoma the deadliest form of skin cancer.

6. Measles.

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This is an infectious virus that typically occurs during childhood, causing fever or rash in the skin. The measles virus, on the upside, is said to be potentially effective against cancer tumors. It was observed that occasional tumor regressions do occur during natural measles infections. The measles viruses have been found to be impressive as an antitumor agent in mouse xenograft models. The viruses, according to researchers, could be modified or re-engineered to facilitate noninvasive monitoring and treatment of tumor cells. Cases exist where the measles virus was engineered to attack myeloma (cancer of the bone marrow) cells.

7. Reovirus.

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This virus is usually benign but could affect the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal system causing flu-like symptoms and diarrhea respectively. Reovirus on a more positive note is believed to infect and kills cancer cells in their unmodified form. Reovirus is currently one of the leading oncolytic viruses undergoing clinical trials internationally. There are over 20 clinical trials, completed, that prove reovirus has clinical therapeutic applicability against a multitude of cancers such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

8. Maraba virus.

Virus source: sand fly (Image credit)

The maraba virus could cause short flu-like illness. The virus, commonly found in sand flies, has recently been characterized as a potent oncolytic virus. In a study, an engineered and disabled Maraba strain known as MG1 expressed a melanoma-associated tumor antigen. It was evaluated to mount an antitumor immunity in melanoma tumor-bearing mice.

The virus has also been discovered to target and destroy the kind of HIV-infected cells that standard antiretroviral therapies can’t treat. Daily medications of the virus kept the level of HIV in the blood low but weren’t be able to eliminate dormant HIV-infected cells in the human body. The hidden HIV viruses rapidly rebound when an infected person stops taking antiretroviral medications. Using a number of laboratory models of HIV-infected cells, researchers found that the MG1 virus targeted and eliminated the infected cells while they left healthy cells unharmed.

9. Adenoviruses.

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This is a virus that is found in a broad range of vertebrate hosts. Among humans, there are more than 50 distinct adenoviral serotypes that have been discovered, which could lead to many illnesses, from mild respiratory infections in young children, pneumonia, pink eye, cold cold, diarrhea, fever, sore throat to life-threatening multi-organ disease in people with a weak immune system.

But again, like previously mentioned viruses, adenoviruses have a popular viral vector for gene therapy with the potential to treat cystic fibrosis. It has also been approved in China as a therapy for head and neck cancer.

10. Vaccinia virus.

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A Vaccinia virus infection is mild and could show no symptoms in healthy individuals. However, it may cause a mild rash and fever. Immune responses generated from a Vaccinia virus infection have proven to protect a person against lethal smallpox infection. Vaccinia virus is still being used as a live-virus vaccine against smallpox and variola virus.

Conclusion

Ongoing research abounds as scientists continue to find ways of using these and many other viruses to fight cancer and deadly diseases. With improvements in science and technology and technical know-how, the future, with regards to eradicating these diseases, seems very bright.

Reference

bbc.com

nytimes.com

nih.gov ^1 2 3

sciencedaily.com

asm.org

wustl.edu