Work

The Importance of Virology at a Time of Great Need and Great Jeopardy

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: As we enter 2015, one needs to look no farther than the dailynews reports to appreciate the ongoing burden of viral dis-eases. Last year, Ebola reemerged in West Africa, claiming thousands of lives and affecting many thousands more. Cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) continue to be reported, with the possibility of a severe acute respiratory syn-drome (SARS)-like epidemic ever present. Chikungunya virus has spread to the Western Hemisphere, and the infection is now epi-demic in the Caribbean and southern United States. We are also living in a world in which hundreds of millions of people are chronically infected with hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV, respectively). The rate of new HIV infections has declined, but millions remain infected, and it, too, has already cut short far too many lives. Viruses account for up to 20 % of all human can-cers, and although a large percentage of new human papillomavi-rus (HPV) and HBV infections can now be prevented by vaccina-

Source: mBio

DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00236-15

Authors: Michael J. Imperiale, Arturo Casadevall

Institutions: University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins University

Language: English

Topic: Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,900