Ocular antiviral therapy in perspective.

The eye presents a unique model for the study of the pathogenesis of viral disease, drugs, and local and general host factors. Disease is easily observed and quantitated, and the presence of two organs sometimes permits controlled observations that are otherwise impossible. Perhaps most important, ocular viral infection is disabling and blinding, and the success of its treatment with antiviral drugs has clearly demonstrated the potential for the use of antiviral drugs in other areas.