Livestock Parasites: Impact on Animal Production and Food Security
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 8343
Special Issue Editor
Interests: animal; livestock; parasite; helminth; drug resistance; climate change; ruminants; therapeutics; vaccines; alternative parasite control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Parasites, particularly those from the phyla Apicomplexa and Nematoda, are extremely important to agriculture and animal wellbeing. Many parasite species are deleterious to human and animal health and agricultural efficiency. Approximately 70% of production animals in developing countries are estimated to experience severe parasite transmission. In ruminants, parasitic infections result in a liveweight reduction up to 14% and milk yield reduction up to 2.2 kg milk/cow per day. Parasitism is not just a disease affecting productivity, but also a leading cause of mortality in young animals. The annual losses of crop yield due to parasitic nematodes are approximately 12% of the total, over USD 100 billion. As a result, parasitism represents one of the key factors threatening global food availability. Many animal parasites are also zoonotic, constituting an additional burden on human health. Furthermore, the rapid emergence and spread of drug resistant parasite strains are alarming.
This Special Issue intends to showcase the most recent advances in livestock parasitology. The term livestock here refers to all domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce labor and commodities, including ruminants (cattle, sheep, and goats), swine, horses, poultry, and fish. Studies on all aspects of parasitology and parasite biology will be considered, including but not limited to:
- Biodiversity, life cycles, morphology and biometrics, and taxonomy/systematics of parasites in the broad range of host (livestock) species;
- Understanding host–parasite interactions using multidisciplinary approaches, such as immunology, genomics and genetics, metagenomics and microbiome studies, cell and molecular biology, pathology, etc.;
- Mechanisms of anthelmintic or drug resistance;
- Theories and methods on modeling parasite distribution shifts in the context of climate changes;
- Wild animals and rodent models to examine host–parasite relationships relevant to livestock species;
- Novel therapeutics, alternative parasite control strategies, and vaccines.
We invite review and original manuscripts as well as brief communications and case reports. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline and will be peer-reviewed as they are received. Accepted papers will be published online continuously. All papers from this Special Issue will also be published as an e-book or printed book.
Dr. Robert W. Li
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 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
- animal
- livestock
- parasite
- helminth
- drug resistance
- climate change
- ruminants
- therapeutics
- vaccines
- alternative parasite control
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.