Dr Eleanor Fish JUNE 201916 Apr 2020 14:06
'Outbreaks of severe virus infections with the potential to cause global pandemics are increasing. In many instances these outbreaks have been newly emerging (Sars Coronavirus), re-emerging (Ebola virus, Zika virus) or Zoonotic (avian influenza H5N1) virus infections. In the absence of a targeted vaccine ora pathogen-specific antiviral, broad spectrum antivirals would function to limit virus spread. Given the direct antiviral effects of type 1 interferons (IFNs) in inhibiting the replication of both DNA and RNA viruses at different stages of their replicative cycles, and the effects of type 1 IFNs on activating immune cell populations to clear virus infections, IFNs-a/B present as ideal candidate broad spectrum antivirals.