An immunologist's view of viral disease

Immunologists see viral infection as a struggle between host defences and viral invasion. The outcome of such invasion may be sub-clinical or self limiting clinical infection or a less favourable outcome with chronicity, "slow virus" disease, autoimmunity or malignancy. A limited number of immune manipulations are possible in viral disease--immunization, immune enhancement with transfer factor or levamisole. An understanding of immune defences is vital at a time when antiviral chemotherapy is still so poorly developed.