ABSTRACT
Japanese encephalitis (JE) and dengue (DEN) viruses are two of the most important human pathogens within the Flavivirus genus of the Flaviviridae family. This group of small RNA viruses includes approximately 70 members, 38 of which have been associated with human illnesses. The West Nile (WN) virus is an important emerging pathogen recently introduced into the Western Hemisphere. In addition to the Flavivirus genus, the Flaviviridae family also includes the Pestivitus genus, which encompasses several veterinary pathogens of worldwide economic impact, such as bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and classical swine fever virus (CSFV), and the Hepacivirus genus, represented by only one member, hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is yet another extremely important human pathogen. Although currently grouped together, recent studies have shown that pestiviruses and HCV differ significantly from representatives of the Flavivirus genus in terms of their life cycle, genome organization, processing of viral proteins, etc. (reviewed in Refs. [1a,1b,3]). Therefore, the approaches to vaccine development discussed below may not be easily applied to these viruses. In the following pages, we will refer to members of the Flavivirus genus only as flaviviruses.
