Recently we demonstrated that mHSA was active against West Nile virus (WNV) [16] . Low doses of HOClmodified human serum albumin (mHSA) inactivated WNV entry into VeroB4 cells in vitro and we observed an interaction between mHSA and the domain III of the WNV external envelope. Similar to WNV, HIV-1 also enters its target cell following membrane fusion of the viral envelope and the plasma membrane and it is conceivable that enveloped viruses share common functions to promote membrane-membrane contact to allow binding of cell membrane-anchored receptors.