The complex shape of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one hurdle limiting the development of treatments for an infection that leads to hospitalization or worse for hundreds of thousands of people in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New images of the virus from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison may hold the key to preventing or slowing RSV infections.
The complex shape of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one hurdle limiting the development of treatments for an infection that leads to hospitalization or worse for hundreds of thousands of people in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New images of the virus from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison may hold the key to preventing or slowing RSV infections.
RSV is of the greatest concern for young children, the elderly and adults at high risk for respiratory complications. Yet unlike the flu and other common, communicable respiratory illnesses that annually sweep through schools, there are few options for fighting RSV. In the U.S., prophylactic treatments are available for young children, and existing vaccines are approved only for pregnant women and the elderly.
The virus’s structure—which consists of tiny, bending filaments—has eluded researchers.
