Final answer:
Antiviral agents struggle to effectively cure chronic viral infections because they must target viral processes without harming host cells, and the virus often remains dormant in host tissue, evading complete eradication.
Step-by-step explanation:
Antiviral agents are not generally effective in chronic viral infections due to the complex nature of viruses and their interactions with the host's cellular machinery. Antivirals face the challenge of distinguishing between viral proteins and the host's own proteins, as they need to specifically target viral processes without harming the infected cells. For chronic infections like genital herpes, although antiviral medications such as acyclovir can manage symptoms and reduce the frequency of outbreaks, they cannot eradicate the virus because it remains dormant in the nervous tissue. Unlike bacteria, viruses are not independent living organisms but are rather intracellular parasites that hijack the host cell's machinery to replicate. This intrinsic aspect of viral replication makes it difficult for antiviral drugs to cure chronic infections completely.
Antiviral agents are not generally effective in chronic viral infections because these drugs typically target specific viral proteins that are only present during the active replication cycle of the virus. In chronic infections, the virus is often in a dormant or latent phase where it is not actively replicating and the targeted proteins are not present. Therefore, the antiviral drugs do not have a target to act upon, making them less effective in treating chronic viral infections.