Humoral immunity to phlebovirus infection

Abstract

Phleboviruses are zoonotic pathogens found in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America and cause disease symptoms ranging from self‐limiting febrile illness to severe disease, including hemorrhagic diathesis, encephalitis, and ocular pathologies. There are currently no approved preventative vaccines against phlebovirus infection or antivirals for the treatment of the disease. Here, we discuss the roles of neutralizing antibodies in phlebovirus infection, the antigenic targets present on the mature polyproteins Gn and Gc, progress in vaccine development, and the prospects of identifying conserved neutralizing epitopes across multiple phleboviruses. Further research in this area will pave the way for the rational design of pan‐phlebovirus vaccines that will protect against both known phleboviruses but also newly emerging phleboviruses that may have pandemic potential.