Wildlife as a Source of Infectious Agents Involved in Zoonoses and Domestic Animal Infections

Dear Colleagues,

Most recent emerging infectious diseases are of wildlife origin, whose role in the maintenance and spread of infectious agents is attracting growing attention.

Multiple drivers can impact the diffusion and exchange of pathogens among wild fauna, domestic animals, and humans.

The increase in the human population, changes in landscape use, leading to the impoverishment of the normal environment, and encroachment on shrinking wildlife habitat increase the likelihood of contact between wildlife and humans or domestic animals. At the same time, the progressive introduction of wildlife and environmental protection policies, the establishment of protected areas, and the resettlements of extinct or near‐extinction species, while commendable from several perspectives, have favored an increase in some wildlife populations and enhanced the infectious pressure of several pathogens and their spillover risk.

Climate change represents another major driver, which mainly affects the distribution and spread of vectors, most of which can feed on diverse host species and are involved in arthropod-borne infectious diseases. These are only a few examples of the many ecological, demographic, and socioeconomic drivers that provide multiple opportunities for pathogens to move in a new population.

Understanding the epidemiology and biological characteristics of infectious agents in wildlife thus represents an essential background for any prevention and control strategy. The purpose of this Special Issue is to improve knowledge on the role of wildlife and vectors in the epidemiology and life-cycle of pathogens that threaten animal and human health.

Dr. Maria Luisa Menandro
Dr. Laura Tomassone
Guest Editors

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