Name the approaches generally adopted to …

There are two principles for treatment of infectious diseases:

Reducing the effect of a disease: In this method, the side-effects or symptoms of a disease are reduced, which are usually because of inflammation. This includes taking medicines to bring down fever, reduce pain etc. One can take rest to save energy so that the body can focus on healing. However, this kind of treatment does not cure a disease as it does not kill the micro-organism that causes the disease.

Killing the cause of a disease: It includes taking microbe-specific medicines. Microbes are classified into virus, bacteria, fungus, protozoa etc. Each group of these microbes have some essential biochemical process which is specific to its group and is not shared by any other group of microbes. Hence, medicines which are specific for that group are prescribed.