Viral Co-infections: Challenges and Therapeutic Approaches

Viral co-infections, where multiple viruses or viral types simultaneously infect individuals, present unique challenges in diagnostics and clinical management and have significant implications for disease progression and therapeutic outcomes. Additionally, some viral infections facilitate the occurrence of secondary infections (superinfections), which are highly clinically relevant during chronic conditions such as AIDS or hepatitis. Since the advent of HAART, HIV patients have longer life expectancy and suffer fewer AIDS-related complications with high rates of liver-related deaths resulting from HCV or HBV in the coinfected population. Coinfection with HIV is an independent predictor of liver disease progression, and proper staging of fibrosis is of critical importance in the coinfected patient. During multi-viral infections, viruses may act in synergy causing complex multifactorial syndromes, such as in the case of porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC), often resulting in severe disease manifestations with complex therapeutic demands. Multi-viral infections complicate diagnostics and make studying the pathogenic potential of recently discovered viral agents very challenging. Finally, co-infections also have the potential to change the direction of virus evolution as they are associated with genetic recombination and reassortment, mechanisms that can confer novel properties to viral progeny.

This Research Topic aims to elucidate various features of viral co-infections, focusing on epidemiology, infection dynamics, and virus-to-virus interactions and their implications for virus evolution and transmission. It also seeks to uncover how these co-infections influence disease severity and progression and affect patient management.

To gather further insights into this multifaceted subject, we welcome contributions that span all aspects linked to viral co-infections. Emphasis is placed on the following themes:

• Virus-virus interactions and virus behavior modification in co-infected hosts
• Molecular and genetic aspects of virus interaction and evolution during coinfections
• Impact of co-infections on immune response and disease progression
• Epidemiological studies elucidating the pathogenic role of different viruses in multi-etiology syndromes
• Comparative studies on co-infections across various host populations
• Latest technological breakthroughs in the detection and monitoring of co-infections
• Innovations in therapeutic approaches and drug resistance challenges

This collection aims to fuel a more comprehensive understanding and foster advancements in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of viral co-infections.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: viral co-infections, therapeutic approaches, infection challenges, viral treatment strategies, co-infection management

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.