Editorial overview: Intraspecies transmission of viruses

The intraspecies transmission of viruses is a complex and often poorly understood phenomenon, but one which is critical to better understand as it encompasses perhaps the most important part of the viral life cycle, namely the routes through which a virus spreads from an infected to a susceptible host. The acquisition of mutations by zoonotic viruses such as avian influenza viruses which enable virus transmission via the respiratory route in humans would have the potential to give rise to pandemics on relatively short time scales of weeks and months. It is therefore vitally important to investigate viral and host factors associated with virus transmission in order to better inform the development of more effective epidemiological or therapeutic intervention strategies. However, [...]