ill play devils advocate on this. i dont know who is right, but its important to be skeptical at all times (just remember what took place on october 14th).
if prions are documented to exist (the cause of BSE or 'mad cow disease'), then its entirely possible that viruses exist. both self-replicate; the only difference is that viruses have a protein capsule surrounding its DNA or RNA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Phage.jpg
that link above shows a micrograph of virus capsules invading a host cell. and they arent colored, as mentioned by lanka. id like to ask lanka how people would contract polio or ebola. furthermore, id like to hear him try to debunk the image provided.
ill pass on the HIV virus argument.
realview: traditional science says that a few viruses form whats known as a spore envelope around them. the spore is unaffected by boiling waters. to be 100% sure to destroy the virus, water must be boiled, allowed to cool, and reboiled several times so that the viruses emerge from the spore and then are killed. id have to review my information, but i believe an autoclave would kill anything, including the spore stage of the virus.