Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Virology, Reverse Genetics, and Pathogenesis of Disease -- Clinical and Epidemiologic Features of Respiratory Syncytial Virus -- Influence of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Strain Differences on Pathogenesis and Immunity -- Structure and Function of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Surface Glycoproteins -- Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Reactive Airway Disease -- Human Genetics and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease: Current Findings and Future Approaches -- Innate Immune Responses to Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection -- The Adaptive Immune Response to Respiratory Syncytial Virus -- Respiratory Syncytial Virus Mechanisms to Interfere with Type 1 Interferons -- Host Gene Expression and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection -- Consequences of Immature and Senescent Immune Responses for Infection with Respiratory Syncytial Virus -- Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease:  Prevention and Treatment -- Live-Attenuated Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines -- Subunit and Virus-Like Particle Vaccine Approaches for Respiratory Syncytial Virus -- Gene-Based Vaccine Approaches for Respiratory Syncytial Virus -- Bovine Model of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection -- The Cotton Rat S. hispidus Model of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection -- The Mouse Model of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease -- Human Airway Epithelial Cell Cultures for Modeling Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection -- Challenges and Opportunities for Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines.

Although respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been a high priority for vaccine development for over 50 years now, still no vaccine is available and none has yet demonstrated sufficient promise to move to licensure. The success of RSV immune prophylaxis and the availability of ever more powerful tools to study the immune response and pathogenesis of disease, combined with the ability to construct a wide variety of vaccines using different vaccine platforms, give us grounds to believe that an RSV vaccine is within reach. This book brings together in one source what is currently known about the virus: its clinical and epidemiologic features; the host response and pathogenesis of the disease; vaccines, vaccine platforms, and treatment; and animal and tissue culture models of RSV infection. It is designed to organize the critical information relevant to RSV vaccine development, facilitate the assimilation of data, and speed progress toward producing a safe and effective vaccine.