Models of RNA virus evolution and their roles in vaccine design

Ojosnegros, Samuel; Beerenwinkel, Niko

However, currently the vast majority of viruses cannot be controlled today with any approved compound and frequently not even all subgroups inside the same viral species are drug sensitive. For example, the 2009 seasonal influenza A virus (H1N1) presents a natural resistance to oseltamivir [33] . The efficiency of antiviral compounds is usually hampered by the generation of drug resistant viruses. Moreover, some compounds may help control infection, but only rarely can the virus be completely cleared from the host organism. By contrast, vaccines can boost the immune system response and, in principle, achieve complete clearance of a virus from an infected host. Therefore, vaccines are considered the best weapon to fight viruses.