Editorial overview: Preventive and therapeutic vaccines (B cell epitope vaccine).

During the preparation of this issue of Current Opinion in Virology, we have experienced a number of unusual, but not unexpected viral outbreaks. The Ebola epidemic began in late 2013 and has ravaged several countries in West Africa, claiming more than 11 000 lives and is still ongoing. A vaccine to stop the virus from spreading is unavailable. As herd immunity to Ebola in unexposed regions is mostly non-existent, it is just a matter of time for this devastating virus to cross over to new territories. In this part of the world, we are witnessing an increasing number of measles cases, a disease that was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000. The MMR vaccine is safe and effective but the irrationality of vaccine refusal prevents it from protecting our society against imported measles. Owing to the high efficiency of global air travel, we are destined to witness more emerging viral outbreaks in the near future. Vaccination will be the most cost-effective answer to prepare for this imminent threat. We shall capitalize on the many recent technological breakthroughs in biomedical sciences to accelerate vaccine discovery and improve existing vaccines.