During viral replication, what happens to the host cell?

• A. Host cell unaffected
• B. Host cell gains energy
• C. Viral replication interferes with normal cell function and may result in destruction of host cell
• D. Host cell becomes immune

Answer: (C)

During viral replication, the virus hijacks the host cell’s machinery—using its enzymes, ribosomes, and energy—to copy its genome and assemble new viral particles. This redirection of cellular resources disrupts normal cell functions and often damages the cell, sometimes leading to lysis or programmed cell death as the new viruses exit. The host cell is not left unaffected, and it doesn’t become immune from this process; immunity involves the organism’s immune system responding to the infection, not changes inside a single cell caused by viral replication. So the description that best fits is that viral replication interferes with normal cell function and may result in destruction of the host cell.