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Diagnostic Insights and Pathophysiology of Animal Infectious Diseases

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2026 | Viewed by 455

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Interests: veterinary pathology; infectious disease pathogenesis; veterinary diagnostic advancement; biomarker discovery; hypersensitivity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue aims to integrate emerging knowledge on disease mechanisms with advances in diagnostic science. It will focus on highlighting host–pathogen interactions and how these interactions manifest through clinical, immunological, and pathological changes. The scope includes research on diagnostic advancement, host–pathogen dynamics, immune responses, vector-borne diseases, environmental contributors to disease, and translational applications that improve disease detection and management. The purpose is to bring together multidisciplinary work that enhances diagnostic accuracy and strengthens understanding of the biological basis of infectious diseases across animal species.

The theme of this Special Issue is ideal because infectious diseases are inherently complex, and meaningful progress depends on synthesising findings across pathology, microbiology, immunology, molecular diagnostics, and epidemiology. This topic is particularly timely due to rapid advances in molecular tools, growing interest in host susceptibility and immune mechanisms, and increased global attention to emerging infectious threats and their sustainable control. Recent developments, including improved proteomic, genomic, and metagenomic diagnostic platforms, make this an opportune moment to consolidate current knowledge and guide future research directions.

Dr. Noman Naseem
Guest Editor

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • diagnostics
  • susceptibility
  • emerging
  • host–pathogen
  • translational
  • vector-borne
  • pathophysiology
  • molecular

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 1469 KB  
Article
Computed Tomography-Derived Bronchial Wall Indices in Cats with Clinical and Serological Features Compatible with Heartworm-Associated Respiratory Disease
by Sara Nieves García-Rodríguez, Jorge Isidoro Matos, J. Alberto Montoya-Alonso, Laín García-Guasch, Eva Mohr-Peraza and Elena Carretón
Animals 2026, 16(11), 1586; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16111586 - 23 May 2026
Viewed by 222
Abstract
Heartworm-Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD) is an early manifestation of feline dirofilariosis caused by immature Dirofilaria immitis stages reaching the lungs and inducing marked inflammatory airway lesions. This study quantified computed tomography (CT)-derived bronchial wall remodeling in cats with clinical and serological features compatible [...] Read more.
Heartworm-Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD) is an early manifestation of feline dirofilariosis caused by immature Dirofilaria immitis stages reaching the lungs and inducing marked inflammatory airway lesions. This study quantified computed tomography (CT)-derived bronchial wall remodeling in cats with clinical and serological features compatible with HARD using the bronchial wall-to-bronchus (BW/B) and bronchial wall-to-pulmonary artery (BW/A) ratios. Twenty-seven client-owned cats were prospectively included: 19 cats with lower-airway clinical signs and D. immitis antibody seropositivity, considered compatible with HARD, and 8 asymptomatic seronegative cats that underwent CT for non-cardiorespiratory clinical indications. All underwent thoracic CT under a standardized anesthetic protocol. Bronchial lumen diameter, total bronchial diameter, and pulmonary artery diameter were measured in cranial and caudal lung regions, and bronchial wall thickness was calculated to derive BW/B and BW/A. Cats compatible with HARD showed significantly increased bronchial wall thickness and higher BW/B and BW/A ratios across all evaluated lung lobes, supporting diffuse bronchial remodeling. BW/A was the only index showing a significant area-by-group interaction, suggesting a possible regional distribution pattern of bronchial wall remodeling in affected cats. Measurement repeatability and reproducibility were high overall. CT-derived bronchial wall indices, particularly BW/A, may provide an objective complementary tool for characterizing airway involvement in cats with clinical and serological profiles compatible with HARD. Because antibody seropositivity indicates exposure rather than confirmed active infection, and because of the small control group, absence of respiratory disease comparators, and lack of histopathological validation, these findings should be considered preliminary and descriptive. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostic Insights and Pathophysiology of Animal Infectious Diseases)
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