Pathogenesis of Emerging and Re-Emerging RNA Viruses

Dear Colleagues,

The last several decades has witnessed a steady stream of newly-emerged highly pathogenic RNA viruses including Ebola and Marburg viruses, novel New World and Old World arenaviruses, the agents of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, the SARS coronavirus, Henipaviruses, and the appearance of West Nile virus in the Western Hemisphere. Other RNA viruses such as hepatitis C virus have continued to cause mounting numbers of cases of chronic illness, often with severe consequences.
Recent investigations are revealing in ever-increasing detail the many strategies that viruses use to evade immunity and to interfere with the normal function of cells, creating new potential for the understanding of the basis for pathogenesis by, and prevention and treatment of, RNA viruses and their associated illnesses.

Prof. Dr. Brian Hjelle
Guest Editor