A viral test is done to find infection causing viruses .Viruses grow only in living cells . Viruses causes disease by destroying or damaging the cells they infect , damaging the body’s immune system Changing the genetic material (DNA) of the cells they infect or causing inflammation that can damage an organ . Viruses cause many types of diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) ,cold sores, chicken pox , measles , flu and some types of cancer.