Drugs that mutate viruses to kill them could make them more dangerous

Several antiviral drugs kill viruses by inducing lots of mutations, but a computer model suggests this could have unpredictable consequences

By Michael Le Page

The use of antiviral drugs that kill viruses by inducing lots of mutations should be restricted because of potential dangers highlighted by new research, some researchers say. Computer modelling suggests these drugs could result in viruses acquiring changes they wouldn’t otherwise and in a way that lab testing will miss.

All organisms continually mutate and most of these mutations are detrimental. Harmful mutations are normally eliminated from populations by natural selection, but if mutation rates are high enough, natural selection cannot …