Editorial: Nutrition, Immunity and Viral Infections

Abstract

Viral infectious diseases have a great impact on humankind. Pandemic, epidemic, and endemic viral diseases produce considerable morbidity and mortality, negatively affecting not only health and well-being but also local and global economies by increasing school and work absenteeism as well as the healthcare system expenses. Probably the best example of this global threat is the infectious disease caused by the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has infected millions of people globally during the 2019-2020 pandemic [WHO, coronavirus pandemic; (1)]. Viral infections not only affect the economy in terms of human life, they also induce losses in livestock and crops (2), and can break down the barriers between animals and people, creating new potential dangers to human health (3). The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic pushed healthcare systems around the world to the limit and put pressure on the scientific community to provide solutions that help to prevent or alleviate its harmful effects. In consequence, in the past few months, there has been a reevaluation of the work of scientists actively investigating the biological features of viral infections, as well as potential preventive and therapeutic tools to combat them.