Dear Colleagues,

Respiratory viruses as a group are responsible for infections that result in substantial morbidity, mortality and economic losses. Unlike previous SARS, MERS and H5N1 outbreaks, the devastating effects of the current SARS-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) highlight our vulnerability to emerging zoonotic pathogens and their pandemic potential. In addition SARS-CoV2, influenza A and B viruses (IAV/IBV) remain at the forefront as significant threats to public health as they have caused numerous pandemics over the last century and perhaps more importantly, yearly epidemics that result in more than 500,000 yearly deaths world-wide. While less fatal to the general population, other respiratory viruses including human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV), human parainfluenza virus (hPIV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) account for the majority of severe acute childhood respiratory disease including pneumonia.

While vaccines are the cornerstone of our defenses against SARS-CoV2 and IAV, vaccines are less effective in cases of novel emerging strains, antigenic drift/shift and resistance/escape mutations. Importantly, no licensed vaccines exist for important childhood respiratory viruses such as hRSV, hMPV and hPIV. These gaps require therapeutic antiviral interventions. While the majority of approved “antivirals” have been virus-directed, it is abundantly clear that this approach is vulnerable to resistance/escape mutations. Accordingly, there has been a concerted effort to identify host factors that can be directly targeted to limit viral replication, pathogenesis and/or transmission.

In this Special Issue, we hope to highlight some of these approaches using “non-traditional” vaccine designs, especially against hRSV, hMPV and hPIV as well as host-directed antiviral compounds that limit viral replication and/or limit tissue/host damage and promote regeneration and survival. Of special interest, are studies that “repurpose” clinically-approved compounds and those that potentially define novel host targets for therapeutic development and further our understanding of host-virus interactions with these important pathogens.

Dr. Husni Elbahesh
Dr. Crystal W. Burke
Guest Editors

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• vaccine development
• therapeutics to viral infections
• host-directed antiviral compounds
• influenza viruses
• SARS and SARS-CoV-2
• MERS-CoV
• human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV)
• human parainfluenza virus (hPIV)
• human metapneumovirus (hMPV)
• host–virus interactions