Pathogens of the Respiratory Tract Infections
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: probiotics; postbiotics; human microbiome; mechanisms of infections; hospital infections
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: infection, antimicrobial resistance and infection control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Respiratory tract infection is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The etiology of a majority of respiratory tract infection is thought to be viral; however, in up to a third of these cases, an infectious agent cannot be identified. Since 2001, many new human viruses have been discovered. Data from many studies have demonstrated that some of these new viruses are responsible, at least partly, for the disease that previously could not be attributed to common respiratory viruses such as RSV, rhinoviruses, influenza viruses, parainfluenza viruses, and adenoviruses. Many new respiratory viruses, human metapneumovirus, human coronaviruses NL63 and HKU1, and the human bocavirus were recently described, but many more need to be discovered. On the other hand, bacterial and fungal pathogens are better recognized but mostly related to difficult-to-treat pneumonia due to their resistance to antimicrobials. Therefore, pneumonia is considered a critical threat and health concern, especially for elderly people and children. All these pathogens are able to infect airway epithelial cells, adopt host cell proteins to facilitate infection, modulate both innate and adaptive immune responses, and mediate proinflammatory responses that contribute to disease pathogenesis. It is necessary to implement preventive measures at the national level to control and deal with respiratory diseases with high prevalence in all age groups.
The aim of this Special Issue of Microorganisms is to present a collection of articles that provide a current insight into research in the RTI field. Manuscripts covering all aspects of research related to RTI and its pathogens and pathomechanisms are welcome, including papers from novel diagnostics and vaccines, through to more fundamental questions relating to the biology of the viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites involved in RTI and its pathogenesis, epidemiology, and treatment.
Prof. Dr. Piotr B. Heczko
Prof. Dr. Jadwiga Wójkowska-Mach
Guest Editors
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. Microorganisms 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 2700 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
- respiratory tract infections
- pathomechanisms
- viruses
- bacteria
- pathogenic fungi
- pneumonia
- vaccines
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