dsRNA reduces the phenomenon of viral escape and cellular damage attendant thereto. Viral escape is a process by which a virus of intracellular pathogen alters its host range or indirectly alters its susceptibility to antiviral or immunological therapies. Viruses do so by causing specific changes in their genomic/antigenic composition and/or by causing the elaboration of factors which enhance destructiveness of cells and their ability to multiply progeny virus. Animals susceptible to viral infections and pathology secondary to antigenic drift may have damage reduced by exposing them to dsRNA which prevents or substantially minimizes viral escape brought about through these mechanisms of molecular rearrangement and/or elaboration of factors which break down the natural host defenses.