Nanomedicine: A multipronged approach to tackle infectious diseases

The burgeoning incidence of infectious diseases (IDs), especially with a surge in chronic infections, pandemic outbreaks, and possible emerging biothreats, pose a significant challenge to public health. Globally, infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity, and effective management of these bacterial or viral diseases is a focus area for most healthcare systems. In addition to chronic infections such as HIV, HBV and TB, which have been prevalent and continue to affect millions, highly transmissible viruses like SARS-Cov-2, Zika, and Ebola viruses have impacted millions of lives and the economy. It is vital to prevent, treat and diagnose infectious diseases efficiently to manage them better. While several FDA-approved antimicrobial and antiviral drugs and vaccines are on the market, toxicity, bioavailability, dosing regimens, and poor targeting are key limitations of traditional therapies. As a result, treatment of HIV, TB, HBV and other diseases requiring long-term treatment has been...