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Microorganisms
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Pandemics and Infectious Diseases
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Pandemics and Infectious Diseases

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Public Health Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 3910

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mohamed Yassin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Infection Control and Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Interests: infection prevention; hospital epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In light of recent global health challenges, this Special Issue focuses on “Pandemics and Infectious Diseases”, an area of critical importance as we navigate the complexities of emerging and re-emerging pathogens. This Special Issue aims to address the multifaceted nature of pandemics and infectious diseases, encompassing their epidemiology, pathogenesis, and impact on public health.

The field of infectious diseases has witnessed significant evolution in the past few decades, driven by both technological advancements and the urgent need for innovative solutions. Research in this area has increasingly integrated cutting-edge techniques such as genomics, proteomics, and advanced bioinformatics, providing new insights into pathogen biology and host responses. This Special Issue will explore recent developments, including novel diagnostic methods, therapeutic interventions, and preventive measures that have emerged in response to recent pandemics.

We invite submissions that cover a broad spectrum of topics related to pandemics and infectious diseases. This includes but is not limited to research articles, reviews, and short communications that address new findings in pathogen identification, vaccine development, treatment strategies, and the socio-economic impacts of infectious disease outbreaks.

As Guest Editors, we encourage you to contribute to this Special Issue by sharing your valuable research and insights, helping to advance our collective knowledge and response strategies in the ongoing battle against infectious diseases.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Mohamed Yassin
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. 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

  • infectious disease outbreak
  • pathogen identification
  • vaccine development
  • treatment strategies

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1014 KiB  
Article
Characterization of a Novel 2018 Influenza Virus Outbreak on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, in the Summer
by Lumumba Arriaga-Nieto, David Alejandro Cabrera-Gaytán, Alfonso Vallejos-Parás, Porfirio Felipe Hernández-Bautista, Clara Esperanza Santacruz-Tinoco, Julio Elías Alvarado-Yaah, Yu-Mei Anguiano-Hernández, Bernardo Martínez-Miguel, María Erandhí Prieto-Torres, Concepción Grajales-Muñiz, Nancy Sandoval-Gutiérrez and Horacia Celina Velarde-Scull
Microorganisms 2025, 13(5), 1086; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13051086 - 7 May 2025
Viewed by 152
Abstract
During the 2017–2018 influenza season, there was high influenza activity, with a predominance of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 circulation in the country. The influenza circulation pattern in the area of the Yucatan Peninsula was different from that of the rest of the country. However, in [...] Read more.
During the 2017–2018 influenza season, there was high influenza activity, with a predominance of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 circulation in the country. The influenza circulation pattern in the area of the Yucatan Peninsula was different from that of the rest of the country. However, in the summer of 2018, there was a sudden increase in the number of identified cases. A retrospective analysis was performed using data generated by four molecular diagnostic laboratories of the Mexican Social Security Institute. Demographics, influenza positivity, seasonality and case fatality rates were recorded. We used odds ratios to compare outpatients who were confirmed by laboratory tests to be positive with those who were confirmed to be negative. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox multivariate analysis were used to calculate cumulative risk. There were 4460 cases of ILI/SARI between Yucatan and Quintana Roo, which represented 53.1% of the total number of cases reported. Compared with that in 2009, the epidemic wave in 2018 was shorter and more expansive, with a greater number of reported cases, as well as a greater number of people who required hospitalization. The dominant pattern of A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza activity on the Yucatan Peninsula in the summer of 2018 has not been observed since the influenza pandemic of 2009. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pandemics and Infectious Diseases)
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14 pages, 1428 KiB  
Article
Socioeconomic and Eco-Environmental Drivers Differentially Trigger and Amplify Bacterial and Viral Outbreaks of Zoonotic Pathogens
by Payton Phillips, Negin Nazari, Sneha Dharwadkar, Antoine Filion, Benedicta Essuon Akaribo, Patrick Stephens and Mekala Sundaram
Microorganisms 2025, 13(3), 621; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13030621 - 7 Mar 2025
Viewed by 741
Abstract
The frequency of infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics is rising, demanding an understanding of their drivers. Common wisdom suggests that increases in outbreak frequency are driven by socioeconomic factors such as globalization and urbanization, yet, the majority of disease outbreaks are caused by [...] Read more.
The frequency of infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics is rising, demanding an understanding of their drivers. Common wisdom suggests that increases in outbreak frequency are driven by socioeconomic factors such as globalization and urbanization, yet, the majority of disease outbreaks are caused by zoonotic pathogens that can be transmitted from animals to humans, suggesting the important role of ecological and environmental drivers. Previous studies of outbreak drivers have also failed to quantify the differences between major classes of pathogens, such as bacterial and viral pathogens. Here, we reconsider the observed drivers of a global sample of 300 zoonotic outbreaks, including the 100 largest outbreaks that occurred between 1977 and 2017. We show that socioeconomic factors more often trigger outbreaks of bacterial pathogens, whereas ecological and environmental factors trigger viral outbreaks. However, socioeconomic factors also act as amplifiers of viral outbreaks, with higher case numbers in viral outbreaks driven by a larger proportion of socioeconomic factors. Our results demonstrate that it is useful to consider the drivers of global disease patterns in aggregate due to commonalities that cross disease systems. However, our work also identifies important differences between the driver profiles of bacterial and viral diseases in aggregate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pandemics and Infectious Diseases)
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23 pages, 1674 KiB  
Article
Emerging Bluetongue Virus Serotype 4 in the Balearic Islands, Spain (2021): Outbreak Investigations and Experimental Infection in Sheep
by David Romero-Trancón, Marta Valero-Lorenzo, María José Ruano, Paloma Fernández-Pacheco, Elena García-Villacieros, Cristina Tena-Tomás, Ana López-Herranz, Jorge Morales, Bartolomé Martí, Miguel Ángel Jiménez-Clavero, Germán Cáceres-Garrido, Montserrat Agüero and Rubén Villalba
Microorganisms 2025, 13(2), 411; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13020411 - 13 Feb 2025
Viewed by 759
Abstract
Bluetongue is an infectious, non-contagious, arthropod-borne viral disease of ruminants caused by bluetongue virus (BTV), producing severe impacts on livestock. Historically, Southern Europe has suffered multiple incursions of different BTV serotypes with serious consequences. In 2021, BTV re-emerged in the Balearic Islands (Spain) [...] Read more.
Bluetongue is an infectious, non-contagious, arthropod-borne viral disease of ruminants caused by bluetongue virus (BTV), producing severe impacts on livestock. Historically, Southern Europe has suffered multiple incursions of different BTV serotypes with serious consequences. In 2021, BTV re-emerged in the Balearic Islands (Spain) after 16 years free of the disease, causing a large outbreak that mainly affected sheep, as well as cattle and goats. A novel emerging strain of BTV serotype 4 (BTV-4) was identified via preliminary molecular characterization as the etiological culprit of the epizootic. This study delineates the outbreak in the Balearic Islands in 2021, encompassing field-based clinical observations and laboratory findings. Additionally, an experimental infection was conducted in sheep using the novel BTV-4 strain to assess its virulence, pathogenicity, and laboratory diagnostic characteristics. The in vivo characterization was conducted concurrently with the virulent and widely disseminated BTV-4 RNM 2020 strain that has precipitated significant outbreaks in the Mediterranean region in recent years. Both strains exhibited analogous pathogenic potential in sheep and yielded equivalent outcomes in diagnostic parameters. Furthermore, the impact of the novel BTV-4 strain is discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pandemics and Infectious Diseases)
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13 pages, 1945 KiB  
Article
Early Diagnosis and Monitoring of Adaptive Immune Response in a Cohort of Mild Mpox Patients During the 2022 Wave
by Sara Caldrer, Silvia Accordini, Annalisa Donini, Natasha Gianesini, Andrea Matucci, Antonio Mori, Cristina Mazzi, Maddalena Cordioli, Evelina Tacconelli, Niccolò Ronzoni, Andrea Angheben, Chiara Piubelli, Federico Gobbi and Concetta Castilletti
Microorganisms 2025, 13(2), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13020355 - 6 Feb 2025
Viewed by 918
Abstract
Our study wanted to describe the kinetics of serological and adaptive immune responses in mpox patients. Methods: Fourteen patients with laboratory-confirmed mpox were tested at different time points after the symptom onset. An immunofluorescence assay was performed to evaluate the seroconversion kinetics of [...] Read more.
Our study wanted to describe the kinetics of serological and adaptive immune responses in mpox patients. Methods: Fourteen patients with laboratory-confirmed mpox were tested at different time points after the symptom onset. An immunofluorescence assay was performed to evaluate the seroconversion kinetics of specific IgA, IgM, and IgG. Moreover, the characterization of the adaptive immunological profile of T- and B-cells was performed. Results: The antibody kinetics revealed the faster and more effective seroconversion of specific IgA than IgM. Moreover, we detected an increase in Active memory B cells and CD8+ cells in the early phases of infection, and a reduction in CD4+ T-cells in the mpox patients with respect to the controls and found the presence of higher levels of Treg cells in the HIV+ patients in the early phase of infection. Conclusion: Our data highlight the relevance of specific IgA testing early after the symptom onset, suggesting a possible role as a marker in early diagnosis, especially in close contact subjects. Furthermore, the different maturation states of effector cells in HIV+ patients, together with high Treg levels, may lead us to better understand the role of MPXV-HIV co-infection and identify potential cellular markers to monitor the excessive immune activation involved in mpox disease progression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pandemics and Infectious Diseases)
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