Promising approaches for treatment and prevention of viral respiratory illnesses

Publication date: Available online 21 July 2017
Source:Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Author(s): Nikolaos G. Papadopoulos, Spyridon Megremis, Nikolaos A. Kitsioulis, Olympia Vangelatou, Peter West, Paraskevi Xepapadaki
Viral respiratory infections are the most common human ailments, leading to enormous health and economic burden. Hundreds of virus species and subtypes have been associated with these conditions, with influenza viruses (IFV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the rhinoviruses (RV) being the most frequent and with the highest burden. When considering prevention or treatment of viral respiratory infections, potential targets include the causative pathogens themselves but also the immune response, disease transmission or even just the symptoms. Strategies targeting all these aspects are concurrently developing and several novel and promising approaches are emerging. In this perspective, we overview the entire range of options and highlight some of the most promising approaches, including new antivirals, symptomatic or immunomodulatory drugs, the re-emergence of natural remedies, as well as vaccines and public health policies towards prevention. Wide scale prevention through immunisation appears to be within reach for RSV and promising for IFV, while additional effort is needed in regard to RV, as well as other respiratory viruses.



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