Prevention and treatment of viral infections: problems and current recommendations

Childhood immunization unfortunately has ceased to be an important focus of preventive medicine in the United States. Although smallpox is no longer a problem, vaccination against poliomyelitis, measles, and rubella is still very much needed. Immunization is also available for hepatitis B, influenza, and rabies and can be carried out in children or adults under selected circumstances. The antiviral drugs now being used have limited roles, although new drugs on the horizon seem promising.