Approach to a highly-virulent emerging viral epidemic: A thought experiment and literature review

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1 Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
2 Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.27518v1
Published
Accepted
Subject Areas
Virology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Science Policy
Keywords
immunology, epidemic, ebola, SARS, Influenza, virology, biological assays, vaccine, public policy, immune evasion
Copyright
© 2019 Amgad et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
Amgad M, Fouad YA, Elsebaie MA. 2019. Approach to a highly-virulent emerging viral epidemic: A thought experiment and literature review. PeerJ Preprints 7:e27518v1

Abstract

What are the immunological facets of a highly successful viral epidemic, and what are likely successful strategies that can be used to counter its spread? Unlike many challenges in biology and public policy, viral epidemics are unique in that they require swift response, and quick application of existing knowledge to infer the underlying biology of a new pathological agent. This essay contextualizes the experience and findings from the viral immunology literature to respond to a hypothetical (yet likely) emerging viral epidemic. It begins with a review of the causes of some defining features of highly virulent viral epidemics, including causes of mortality, viral virulence, and immune evasion and suppression tactics. We provide an overview of lines of investigation to characterize emerging viral epidemics, including a brief survey of clinical and biological assays for immune surveillance and in-depth interrogation of viral biology. Finally, we provide a broad overview of management and vaccine development response strategies.

Author Comment

This is a preprint submission to PeerJ Preprints.