Microbiology 9th Edition by Laura Black, Jacquelyn Black

Exercise 1

Cathy develops a painful cluster of blister-like lesions on her genitals. The doctor tells her that she has an infection with her pes virus and gives her a prescription for acyclovir, an antiviral drug. Cathy goes home, uses the acyclovir faithfully according to directions, but gets no relief. Her good friend, Mary, also has had herpes for quite some time and always gets relief when she uses acyclovir. Based on a conversation about this with Mary, Cathy wonders whether she really has herpes; maybe the doctor was wrong. She visits the doctor again, and he tells her that she prob ably has a mutant strain of herpes virus that is not affected by acyclovir, and gives her a different antiviral prescription. On the way home, Cathy wonders whether viruses can really mutate, and if the doctor really knows what he's talking about. What could you tell her?