2′-5′ oligoadenylate synthetase-like 1 (OASL1) deficient (Oasl1−/−) mice are resistant to viral infections, as OASL1 specifically inhibits the translation of interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7), the master transcription factor for interferon-1 (IFN-I). This evidence concerns the gene IRF7 and viral infectious disease.