Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.2
3.0
Journals
Animals
Special Issues
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Wildlife Disease Ecology
share announcement

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Wildlife Disease Ecology

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Wildlife".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 1826

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Camilla Smoglica

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, Italy
Interests: epidemiology; microbiology; molecular biology; antimicrobial resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Laura Grassi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Interests: tick-borne diseases; zoonosis; wildlife epidemiology
Dr. Selene Rubiola

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Interests: foodborne parasites; foodborne pathogens; antimicrobial resistance; game meat
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giulia Graziosi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40064 Bologna, Italy
Interests: avian pathogens; wild birds; wild-domestic bird interface; epidemiology; virology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, we face serious challenges increasingly related to climate change, habitat loss, changes in land use and a continuous evolution of the interface between wildlife and anthropic environment. These aspects, together with health challenges such as antimicrobial resistance and emerging pathogens, draw attention to new aspects of the ecology of diseases in wildlife populations.

In this context, the application of multidisciplinary studies is necessary and increasingly required, aiming to provide new information from a One Health perspective.

For this reason, we feel the need to create this space to give a voice to those working in the wildlife-related fields and who, through their commitment and work, have generated new useful data on infectious diseases (bacteriology, virology, parasitology) of wildlife and game meat safety. Given the growing interest on these topics to tackle the new challenges of our time, in this Special Issue, we welcome both original research papers and reviews focusing on wildlife infectious diseases, disease ecology at the wildlife–domestic animal/human interface and food safety issues related to game meat.

Dr. Camilla Smoglica
Dr. Laura Grassi
Dr. Selene Rubiola
Dr. Giulia Graziosi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • disease ecology
  • bacteriology
  • virology
  • parasitology
  • food safety
  • epidemiology
  • prevention
  • control
  • zoonoses
  • cross-species transmission
  • wildlife
  • wild–domestic animal interface
  • One Health

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

9 pages, 644 KiB  
Communication
Exposure of Urban European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) to Toxoplasma gondii in Highly Populated Areas of Northeast Spain
by Alejandra Escudero, Maria Puig Ribas, Elena Obón, Sonia Almería, Xavier Fernández Aguilar, Hojjat Gholipour, Oscar Cabezón and Rafael Molina-López
Animals 2024, 14(11), 1596; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14111596 - 28 May 2024
Viewed by 227
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a generalist zoonotic parasite that involves a wide range of warm-blooded animals as intermediate hosts and felines as definitive hosts. Recent studies have proved significant positive associations between human population density and T. gondii seroprevalence in wildlife. However, there is [...] Read more.
Toxoplasma gondii is a generalist zoonotic parasite that involves a wide range of warm-blooded animals as intermediate hosts and felines as definitive hosts. Recent studies have proved significant positive associations between human population density and T. gondii seroprevalence in wildlife. However, there is limited data regarding T. gondii wildlife in urban areas, where the highest human density occurs. The present study aimed to analyse the T. gondii exposure in urban hedgehogs from the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, NE Spain. One hundred eighteen hedgehogs were analysed for the presence of antibodies (modified agglutination test; n = 55) and parasite DNA (qPCR; heart = 34; brain = 60). Antibodies were detected in 69.09% of hedgehogs. T. gondii DNA was not detected in any of the analysed samples. The present study reports a high T. gondii seroprevalence in urban hedgehogs in areas surrounding Barcelona, the most densely human-populated area of NE Spain, reinforcing the association between human population density and environmental T. gondii oocysts. The lack of detection by molecular techniques warrants more studies. In the last few decades, the distribution and abundance of European hedgehogs have declined, including their urban populations. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of T. gondii on hedgehog populations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Wildlife Disease Ecology)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 2308 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity of Avian Influenza Viruses Detected in Waterbirds in Northeast Italy Using Two Different Sampling Strategies
by Giulia Graziosi, Caterina Lupini, Federica Gobbo, Bianca Zecchin, Giulia Quaglia, Sara Pedrazzoli, Gabriele Lizzi, Geremia Dosa, Gabriella Martini, Calogero Terregino and Elena Catelli
Animals 2024, 14(7), 1018; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14071018 - 27 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1081
Abstract
Avian influenza viruses (AIVs), which circulate endemically in wild aquatic birds, pose a significant threat to poultry and raise concerns for their zoonotic potential. From August 2021 to April 2022, a multi-site cross-sectional study involving active AIV epidemiological monitoring was conducted in wetlands [...] Read more.
Avian influenza viruses (AIVs), which circulate endemically in wild aquatic birds, pose a significant threat to poultry and raise concerns for their zoonotic potential. From August 2021 to April 2022, a multi-site cross-sectional study involving active AIV epidemiological monitoring was conducted in wetlands of the Emilia-Romagna region, northern Italy, adjacent to densely populated poultry areas. A total of 129 cloacal swab samples (CSs) and 407 avian faecal droppings samples (FDs) were collected, with 7 CSs (5.4%) and 4 FDs (1%) testing positive for the AIV matrix gene through rRT-PCR. A COI-barcoding protocol was applied to recognize the species of origin of AIV-positive FDs. Multiple low-pathogenic AIV subtypes were identified, and five of these were isolated, including an H5N3, an H1N1, and three H9N2 in wild ducks. Following whole-genome sequencing, phylogenetic analyses of the hereby obtained strains showed close genetic relationships with AIVs detected in countries along the Black Sea/Mediterranean migratory flyway. Notably, none of the analyzed gene segments were genetically related to HPAI H5N1 viruses of clade 2.3.4.4b isolated from Italian poultry during the concurrent 2021–2022 epidemic. Overall, the detected AIV genetic diversity emphasizes the necessity for ongoing monitoring in wild hosts using diverse sampling strategies and whole-genome sequencing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Wildlife Disease Ecology)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop