Dear Colleagues,

Emerging pathogenic human coronaviruses (hCoVs) pose a significant threat to public health and the global economy. Over the last two decades, three pathogenic coronaviruses have emerged from zoonotic sources to cause severe disease in humans. Several researchers have now identified SARS- and MERS-like coronaviruses in the bat population, making it likely that these viruses will continue to cross the species barrier, causing outbreaks in humans. Recently emerged novel coronavirus 2019 (nCoV-2019) is an excellent example of a pathogenic coronavirus that likely jumped from a zoonotic source, causing a severe epidemic. Since humans are immunologically naïve to emerging and re-emerging pathogens, these viruses effectively evade host immunity and cause severe disease. At present, no approved vaccines or specific antivirals are available to prevent or treat hCoV infections. Therefore, developing novel therapeutics to prevent and control hCoV epidemics is necessary. To achieve this, it is crucial to understand the molecular basis for the severe respiratory illness caused by pathogenic hCoVs. Despite extensive research over the last two decades, there are still critical gaps in our understanding of the hCoV pathogenesis.

This Special Issue will address a wide range of topics focusing on virus–host interactions and evasion of host immunity by hCoVs, mechanisms of protective and pathogenic immunity, vaccines, and antiviral drug development. The aim of this Special Issue is to help to fill the gaps in our current understanding of hCoV pathogenesis. We will consider all types of articles for publication, including short reports, original research articles, and reviews.

Dr. Rudragouda Channappanavar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• pathogenic human coronaviruses
• virus–host interaction
• immune evasion
• pathogenesis
• animal models
• antivirals
• vaccines