Influenza Virus and Vaccination

Abstract

Influenza virus infections represent a serious public health problem causing contagious respiratory disease and substantial morbidity and mortality in humans, resulting in a considerable economic burden worldwide. Notably, the number of deaths due to influenza exceeds that of any other known pathogen. Moreover, influenza infections can differ in their intensity, from mild respiratory disease to pneumonia, which can lead to death. Articles in this Special Issue have addressed different aspects of influenza in human health, and the advances in influenza research leading to the development of better therapeutics and vaccination strategies, with a special focus on the study of factors associated with innate or adaptive immune responses to influenza vaccination and/or infection.

Anti-Influenza Virus Study of Composite Material with MIL-101(Fe)-Adsorbed Favipiravir

“…Studies have thus far identified 16 subtypes of influenza A virus HA, denoted as H1–H16, and 9 subtypes of NA, N1–N9 [ 4 ]. Several retrospective studies have reported that influenza pandemics occur in cycles of approximately 10–40 years due to antigenic drift [ 5 ] while statistics show a total of 4 pandemics caused by influenza viruses [ 6 , 7 ]. The first recorded pandemic began in 1918 and was caused by an influenza A H1N1 virus, killing between 50 and 100 million people worldwide from 1918–1919.…”

Replication-Competent ΔNS1 Influenza A Viruses Expressing Reporter Genes

“…In humans, IAV causes annual epidemics and occasional pandemics, representing a serious public health problem and associated economic impact [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Therefore, the implementation of new therapeutic approaches to prevent (vaccines) or control (antivirals) IAV infections as well as the development of novel biotechnological tools to study viral replication or pathogenesis are highly desirable [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”