Airborne Transmission of Pathogens

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 123

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH) Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, 4000 Liege, Belgium
Interests: infectious diseases; vector-borne diseases; zoonoses; epidemiology; risk analysis; biosecurity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Scientific Department Mycology and Aerobiology, Sciensano, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Interests: indoor air; medical mycology; infectious diseases; surveillance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aerosol exposure occurs when pathogenic agents contained in aerosol droplets are passed from one animal or human to another, from animal to human, or from human to animal. To be infectious, pathogenic agents must survive for sufficient periods of time within their environment, i.e., the aerosol droplets. Proximity of infected and susceptible animals/humans is required for disease exposure. Ventilation of the room where animals/humans live or other mitigation measures (e.g., distance between emitter and receptor, biosecurity measures) are also factors to be considered in experimental (e.g., laboratory or facility) or field conditions (e.g., meeting room, bus, flight, farms). In certain conditions, droplets containing disease agents can pass through the air and are inhaled. Airborne transmission is effective for a variety of diseases depending on the species (e.g., foot-and-month disease, anthrax, Q fever, tuberculosis, aspergillosis, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, pasteurellosis, human influenza, SARS-CoV-2, avian influenza, swine influenza, equine influenza, calicivirus), and several are zoonoses. Moreover, certain pathogens share antimicrobial resistance genes. This Special Issue is a perfect example of the use of the One Health approach to better understand airborne transmission.

I would like to invite colleagues investigating any of the pathogenic agents transmitted by airborne within the areas of their sampling detection (especially live pathogens), ecology, epidemiology, risk analysis, modelling, and mitigation measures, including individual protective equipment, to submit their manuscripts to this Special Issue in the form of original research and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Claude Saegerman
Dr. Ann Packeu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • pathogen
  • transmission route
  • airborne
  • animal
  • human
  • One Health
  • sampling
  • modelling
  • risk assessment
  • biosecurity
  • mitigation

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