Pointer: The application of prophylactic antibodies for rhinovirus infections

Abstract

Rhinoviruses are extremely common pathogens of the upper respiratory tract with adults experiencing on average 2-5 infections per year and children up to 12 infections. Although infections are not life threatening, except in cases of chronic lung disease where rhinoviruses are the major precipitant of acute exacerbations of disease, there is a high associated economic cost resulting from lost productivity due to absence from work or school. Treatment of infections focuses on symptom relief with anti-pyretics/analgesics as there are no antiviral therapies available and vaccine strategies face difficulties because of the large number of viral serotypes. Here, we assess the potential for prophylactic antibody intervention for these ubiquitous human pathogens. © 2014 International Medical Press 1359-6535 (print) 2040-2066 (online).