The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of pathogen-specific antiviral strategies and the urgent need for immediately deployable, broad-spectrum solutions. While vaccines and targeted antivirals remain essential, their development is slow, costly, and reactive, leaving populations vulnerable during the critical early stages of outbreaks. Host-directed therapies that harness innate immunity offer a promising alternative. Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV), an orally administered, attenuated avian dsRNA vaccine virus, has demonstrated broad antiviral activity in both animal models and human patients. With a strong interferon-inducing capacity, proven safety record in billions of poultry vaccinations, and clinical evidence of efficacy against diverse viral families, IBDV represents a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between pandemic onset and pathogen-specific countermeasures.
The goal of this Research Topic is to catalyse a paradigm shift in pandemic preparedness by highlighting the potential of IBDV as a safe, scalable, and immediately deployable antiviral. Unlike experimental candidates still in development, veterinary IBDV vaccine has been commercially available since more than 60 years and genetically equivalent to the reverse-engineered human drug candidate (IBDV R903/78). This positions IBDV as a pragmatic stop-gap solution that can be deployed under emergency or compassionate use frameworks while formal registration of IBDV R903/78 proceeds. As live vaccines confer beneficial immune training that lowers overall mortality and morbidity, the nonspecific effects of vaccines call for an immediate revision of the framework for testing, approving, and regulating new vaccines. By convening interdisciplinary perspectives—from immunology and virology to regulatory science and public health—we aim to build consensus around the scientific rationale, clinical evidence, and policy pathways for live vaccines’ deployment. Ultimately, this Research Topic seeks to demonstrate that pandemic preparedness need not wait for future discoveries: we already have a broadly active antiviral tool that can save lives, mitigate economic collapse, and strengthen resilience against inevitable viral threats.
This Research Topic invites contributions that explore the scientific, clinical, and policy dimensions of host-directed antiviral strategies, with a particular focus on IBDV. We encourage submissions addressing: • Mechanisms of innate immune activation by dsRNA viruses and viral interference. • Clinical and preclinical evidence of live vaccines’ efficacy across multiple viral infections. • Comparative analyses of host-targeted versus pathogen-specific antiviral approaches. • Regulatory and ethical considerations for emergency deployment of veterinary vaccines in humans. • Integration of One Health principles in pandemic preparedness. • Strategies for scaling, stockpiling, and equitable distribution of broad-spectrum antivirals.
Authors are invited to contribute original research, reviews, perspectives, and policy analyses that advance understanding and implementation of host-directed antivirals in global health.
Topic Editor, Dr. Tibor Bakacs, declares stock/stock options from HepC Inc., and he is also a shareholder of HepC Inc. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Brief Research Report
Case Report
Classification
Clinical Trial
Editorial
FAIR² Data
FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
General Commentary
Hypothesis and Theory
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:
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.
