Defining the Antigenic Structure of the Henipavirus Attachment (G) Glycoprotein: Implications for the Fusion Mechanism

摘要

Epidemics of communicable disease such as the Medieval Black Death (Yersinia pestes) or the introduction of smallpox to the Aztecs decimated human populations interrupted trade routes, and transformed social and economic conventions (reviewed in 69, 105, 136). However, communicable diseases remained enigmatic until the advancement of germ theory suggested these illnesses resulted from discrete biological sources. In 1928, Sir Alexander Flemming discovered penicillin and proved communicable disease could be treated and cured (54). Further, development of the smallpox and rabies vaccines by Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur, respectively demonstrated illness was preventable. These scientific advances ushered in an era of rapid development in prophylactic and therapeutic modalities resulting in significant global decreases in the health burden of infectious agents. As early as the mid 1940s widespread achievement in the control of infectious disease prompted public health leaders in the United States and elsewhere to declare the global threat of infectious disease had passed (140).