Why are there few effective treatments for viral infections?

The correct answer emphasizes that many current medications focus on alleviating symptoms associated with viral infections rather than directly targeting the viruses themselves. This symptom-management approach is common because developing antiviral medications that successfully inhibit a virus without harming human cells is particularly challenging. Viruses typically rely on host cellular machinery to replicate, which complicates treatment strategies. For several viral infections, especially common ones, effective interventions that eliminate the virus are either not available or have not been developed.

While some antiviral drugs do exist, their spectrum of activity is often limited, and they may not be effective against all strains of a virus. This leads to a reliance on symptomatic treatments in many cases. Other options do not accurately capture the nature of the challenges in treating viral infections. While some viral infections can be benign, this does not justify the scarcity of effective treatments. The rapid mutation rates of many viruses indeed create hurdles for developing long-lasting therapies, but this option does not account for the broader therapeutic approaches adopted in clinical settings.