Special Issue "One Health: The Contribution of Veterinary Medicine to Advance the Health of Humans"
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Clinical Studies".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.
Special Issue Editor
Interests: veterinary pathology; veterinary forensic pathology; domestic and laboratory animal pathology; comparative medicine; environmental diseases
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The concept of One Health was inspired by Hippocrates, the Greek father of medicine, who in his text "On Airs, Waters, and Places" was the first to anticipate that environmental factors can impact human health. Almost two centuries ago, the founder of modern pathology, Rudolf Virchow, had the immense and world-changing idea that human and animal diseases are profoundly connected and created the term “zoonosis.” Although the concept of One Health is continuously evolving, it is nowadays well-established that it must be considered as "the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally, to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment."
In this Special Issue of the prestigious Animals journal, we aim to gather high-quality papers that may contribute to a One Health scientific platform by focusing on ecological and environmental factors that drive and impact diseases in animals, including those related to food safety, on current and future outbreaks of zoonoses, emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, and antimicrobial resistance. Researchers that are currently working in the fields of veterinary pathology, veterinary toxicological pathology, veterinary microbiology and infectious diseases, and food inspection are welcome to contribute in-depth reviews, original full articles, and unique case reports. The use of novel techniques will be of particular interest.
Dr. Davide De Biase
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 papers will be 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 monthly 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 1800 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
- One Health
- veterinary public health
- environmental diseases
- veterinary pathology
- zoonoses
- antimicrobial resistance
- food inspection
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: A journey into the animal comparative pathology with a one-health global coronavirus prospective
Authors: Valentina Elena Giuditta Zappulli
Affiliation: Padova University
Abstract: In the light of the CoVs zoonotic risk and their ability to adapt to new species, it appears pivotal to understand the pathophysiology and mechanisms of tissue injury of known CoVs within the “One-Health” concept. Despite many pathophysiological mechanisms are still not well-known in animals, in this review we would present brief general information on CoVs pathogenesis and old and new CoVs-associated animals’ diseases revied in each mammals and avian species, excluding bats in which the diseases remain generally asymptomatic and for which very few information on tissue damage are available. Gross and histological lesions would be the main focus to highlight viral spread into the organism and the specific cell damage. A comparative perspective would be included describing in summary also huma lesions. Schematic images of tissue damage for the main organs (lung, gi and brain) would be included using the Biorender web site.
Title: Do animals play a role in the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)? A commentary.
Authors: Anna Costagliola; Giovanna Liguori; Danila d’Angelo; Caterina Costa; Francesca Ciani; Antonio Giordano
Affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) belongs to the beta-coronavirus genus. It is 96.2% homologous to Bat CoV RaTG13 and 88% homologous to two bat-SARS-like coronaviruses. SARS-CoV-2, is the responsible infectious agent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which first outbroke in Wuhan, in Hubei province in China, at the beginning of December 2019. Human transmission occurs from COVID-19 patients or incubation carriers via coughs, sneezes, or speaks or discharge from the nose, or via faecal contamination. Different strains of the virus have been reported around the world, with different virulence and behavior. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 shares some epitopes with some taxonomically related viruses with tropism for the most common synanthropic animals. Thus, elucidating the immunological properties of the circulating SARS-CoV-2, a partial protection due to the human-animal interaction might be supposed in some situations. In addition, differential epitopes might also be used for the differential diagnosis of SARS-Cov2 infection. There have been cases of transmission from people who are COVID-19-positive to their pets such as cats and dogs. In addition, a tiger and lion were infected along with minks at farms in some countries. All these animals were either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic and recovered spontaneously. Experimental studies showed cats and ferrets to be more susceptible to COVID-19. Up to now, no direct transmission from animals to humans has been demonstrated. It is important to understand the risk that people with COVID-19 pose to their pets so that effective recommendations and risk management measures against COVID-19 can be made. A One Health Unit that facilitates collaboration between public health and veterinary services is recommended.
Title: Antimicrobial activity of some essential oils against methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius-associated pyoderma in dogs.
Authors: Francesca Paola Nocera; Simone Mancini; Basma Najar; Fabrizio Bertelloni; Luisa Pistelli; Anna De Filippis; Filomena Fiorito; Luisa De Martino; Filippo Fratini
Affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
Abstract: Pyoderma is one of the most common canine diseases, and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, a Gram-positive bacterium, represents the most common infectious causative agent. This study aimed to test in vitro the antimicrobial activity of eleven essential oils against four methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) and four methicillin-sensible S. pseudintermedius (MSSP) clinical isolates. Chemical characterization of the essential oils was carried out by GC–EIMS (Gas-Chromatography–Electron Impact Mass-Spectrometry). Isolates were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the species-specific nuc and hlb genes as well as the presence of mecA gene. Isolates were analysed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility method against
seventeen antibiotics. Essential oils effectiveness was tested by Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) determinations. The obtained findings demonstrated a clear in vitro efficacy of some essential oils against both MRSP and MSSP strains. Particularly, cinnamon, lemon balm, manuka, winter savory and lemongrass essential oils demonstrated the main antibacterial activity against all tested strains. It can be argued that their employment could be useful for the canine pyoderma treatment, to limit the use of antibiotics or even where conventional therapy with antibiotics seems not efficacious.
Title: Molecular evidence of the occurrence of Bartonella henselae in rodents: a study in Pianosa Island, Italy
Authors: Sara Divari; Paola Pregel; Stefania Zanet; Ezio Ferroglio; Francesca Giannini; Frine Eleonora Scaglione; Alex Grinberg; Bartolomeo Biolatti; Enrico Bollo
Affiliation: University of Turin - Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10090 - Grugliasco (Turin), Italy.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate Bartonella spp. DNA presence in wild rodents in Pianosa island, Italy. Rats (n=15) and field mice (n=16) were captured and the carcasses tested for the presence of Bartonella spp. DNA by means of a protocol that included qPCR at a short segment of the 16S-23S rDNA interspacer transcribed region (ITS) followed by PCR for a long segment of ITS and citrate synthetase (gltA) loci.
DNA extracted from the spleen of 25/31 carcasses yielded qPCR curves consistent with the Bartonella spp. short ITS segment, and Bartonella genus was confirmed by amplicon sequencing. Eight out of 25 samples yielded bands on gels consistent with the Long ITS, and 6/25 with gltA locus. Amplicons sequencing identified B. henselae in 1/25, and B. coopersplainsensis in 4/25 spleens.
Rodents are considered reservoirs of a number of Bartonella species that cause human bartonellosis, but the role of rodents in the eco-epidemiology of B. henselae, the main agent of cat scratch disease, is not understood. These results provide support to recently published observations indicating B. henselae may circulate in rodent populations.