Antibodies have been used for more than 100 years in the therapy of infectious diseases, but a new generation of highly potent and/or broadly cross-reactive human monoclonal antibodies (sometimes referred to as 'super-antibodies') offers new opportunities for intervention. The isolation of these antibodies, most of which are rarely induced in human infections, has primarily been achieved by large-scale screening for suitable donors and new single B cell approaches to human monoclonal antibody generation. Engineering the antibodies to improve half-life and effector functions has further augmented their in vivo activity in some cases. Super-antibodies offer promise for the prophylaxis and therapy of infections with a range of viruses, including those that are highly antigenically variable and those that are newly emerging or that have pandemic potential. The next few years will be decisive in the realization of the promise of super-antibodies.

抗体在感染性疾病的治疗中已经使用了100多年，但是新一代的高效和/或广泛交叉反应的人单克隆抗体（有时称为“超级抗体”）提供了新的干预机会。这些抗体的分离（其中大多数很少在人类感染中诱导）的分离，主要是通过大规模筛选合适的供体和新的单B细胞生成人类单克隆抗体的方法来实现的。工程化抗体以改善半衰期和效应子功能进一步增强了它们的体内活性在某些情况下活动。超级抗体为预防和治疗多种病毒提供了希望，包括高度抗原性可变的病毒，新近出现的病毒或具有大流行潜力的病毒。未来几年将在实现超级抗体方面起决定性作用。