Antivirals against (Re)emerging Flaviviruses: Should We Target the Virus or the Host?
María‐Jesús Pérez‐Pérez, Juan‐Carlos Sáiz, Eva‐María Priego, Miguel A. Martín-Acebes
Abstract
The COVID pandemic has evidenced how vulnerable we are to emerging infectious diseases and how short our current armamentarium is. Flavivirus, single stranded RNA viruses transmitted by arthropods, are considered a global health challenge. No drugs to treat these infections have been approved. In this Viewpoint, we analyze the advantages and disadvantages of two different, but probably also complementary, therapeutic approaches: virus-targeting antivirals and host-targeting drugs.
Topics & Concepts
VirologyFlavivirusPandemicHost (biology)Zika virusCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)VirusComputational biologyMedicineBiologyInfectious disease (medical specialty)DiseaseGeneticsPathologyMosquito-borne diseases and controlViral Infections and VectorsInsect symbiosis and bacterial influences