Announcements

World Chagas Disease Day 2025 brings global attention to one of the most neglected tropical diseases, reinforcing our collective responsibility to “leave no one behind” in the pursuit of health equity.

Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects over 7 million people worldwide—primarily among poor and underserved communities in Latin America, but with increasing prevalence in non-endemic regions due to migration and globalization. Often progressing without symptoms in its early stages, Chagas is known as a “silent and silenced disease”, leading to potentially fatal cardiac and digestive complications if left untreated. Despite its growing global impact, awareness and access to diagnosis and treatment remain limited.

To change the trajectory of Chagas disease, we must foster multidisciplinary collaboration across research, clinical practice, and public policy. From early detection and vector control to treatment access and patient-centered care, every stakeholder has a role to play. Health systems must adapt to address not only the biological and clinical dimensions of the disease but also the social and economic determinants that perpetuate its neglect.

In recognition of World Chagas Disease Day 2025, we invite you to explore a curated collection of articles and Special Issues from selected MDPI journals, including Insects, Pathogens, Microorganisms, Parasitologia, Diseases, Healthcare, and TropicalMed. These resources offer vital perspectives on the epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of Chagas disease, while also encouraging cross-sector collaboration. Through scientific engagement and public awareness, we can work together toward the goal: early detection, equitable care, and the eventual elimination of Chagas disease.

 “Development and Characterization of Innovative Nifurtimox Formulations as Therapeutic Alternative for Chagas Disease”
by Ana Lia Mazzeti, Karolina Ribeiro Gonçalves, Patrícia Ferreira Boasquivis, Maria Terezinha Bahia and Vanessa Carla Furtado Mosqueira
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10020050

“Molecular Characterization of Trypanosoma cruzi from Triatomine Species in São Paulo State, an Area Free of Vector-Borne Chagas Disease”
by Eliana Ferreira Monteiro, Rubens Antonio da Silva, Arlei Marcili and Karin Kirchgatter
Insects 2025, 16(2), 161; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16020161

“The Impact of Environmental and Housing Factors on the Distribution of Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) in an Endemic Area of Chagas Disease in Puebla, Mexico”
by Miguel Ortega-Caballero, Maria Cristina Gonzalez-Vazquez, Miguel Angel Hernández-Espinosa, Alejandro Carabarin-Lima and Alia Mendez-Albores
Diseases 2024, 12(10), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases12100238

“Zoonotic Cycle of American Trypanosomiasis in an Endemic Region of the Argentine Chaco, Factors That Influenced a Paradigm Shift”
by Andrea Gómez-Bravo, Sebastián Cirignoli, Diana Wehrendt, Alejandro Schijman, Cielo M. León, María Flores-Chaves, Javier Nieto, Troy J. Kieran, Marcelo Abril and Felipe Guhl
Insects 2024, 15(7), 471; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15070471

“Mapping the Silent Threat: A Comprehensive Analysis of Chagas Disease Occurrence in Riverside Communities in the Western Amazon”
by Daniela da Silva Paixão, Fernanda Portela Madeira, Adila Costa de Jesus, Hêmilly Caroline da Silva Paixão, Juliana de Souza Almeida Aranha Camargo, Mariane Albuquerque Lima Ribeiro, Leandro José Ramos, Jader de Oliveira, João Aristeu da Rosa, Paulo Sérgio Bernarde et al.
Pathogens 2024, 13(2), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13020176

“Chagas Disease in Europe”
by Marta Gonzalez-Sanz, Clara Crespillo-Andújar, Sandra Chamorro-Tojeiro, Begoña Monge-Maillo, Jose A. Perez-Molina and Francesca F. Norman
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2023, 8(12), 513; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8120513

“Impact of Laboratory-Adapted Intracellular Trypanosoma cruzi Strains on the Activity Profiles of Compounds with Anti-T. cruzi Activity”
by Melissa L. Sykes, Emily K. Kennedy and Vicky M. Avery
Microorganisms 2023, 11(2), 476; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11020476

“A Review on the Immunological Response against Trypanosoma cruzi”
by Martje Van Neste, Annick Bogaerts, Nina Nauwelaerts, Julia Macente, Anne Smits, Pieter Annaert and Karel Allegaert
Pathogens 2023, 12(2), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12020282

Transboundary animal diseases and emerging zoonoses pose ongoing threats to global food security, public health, and local/national economies. This symposium will feature research and diagnostic procedures undertaken by USDA-supported programs in areas of the world where these diseases are endemic, providing valuable knowledge about molecular epidemiology and effective control methods. The partners will present their findings, and several keynote talks will be given by research leaders working on these diseases in the US and around the world. Abstracts are welcome, and some will be accepted for podium presentation. 

For a detailed agenda, information on submitting abstracts, and registration, please visit https://insights.crdfglobal.org/gpazds. 

We are also collaborating with Pathogens (ISSN: 2076-0817) and have launched a dedicated Special Issue, “Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases”, to publish studies related to the symposium topics. We warmly encourage you to contribute. Please visit the Special Issue webpage for more details: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/pathogens/special_issues/N7JX8JXHIN.

Tuberculosis is a disease that is both preventable and treatable, significantly affecting people’s health and quality of life worldwide. Every year, we commemorate World Tuberculosis Day to raise public awareness of the devastating health, social, and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to intensify efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date signifies the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium responsible for TB, which paved the way for diagnosing and curing this disease. We hope that established journals in the fields of Biology Life Sciences and Medicine & Pharmacology at MDPI, including Pathogens, Microorganisms, Reports, Medical Sciences, Healthcare and Diagnostics will continue to serve as a communication platform for innovative ideas regarding prevention and treatment.

“Impact of Severity of COVID-19 in TB Disease Patients: Experience from an Italian Infectious Disease Referral Hospital”
by Virginia Di Bari, Carlotta Cerva, Raffaella Libertone, Serena Maria Carli, Maria Musso, Delia Goletti, Alessandra Aiello, Antonio Mazzarelli, Angela Cannas, Giulia Matusali, Fabrizio Palmieri, Gina Gualano and on behalf of the TB-INMI Working Group
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2025, 17(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr17010011 

“Cigarette Smoking as a Risk Factor for Tuberculosis in Adults: Epidemiology and Aspects of Disease Pathogenesis”
by Charles Feldman, Annette J. Theron, Moloko C. Cholo and Ronald Anderson
Pathogens 2024, 13(2), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13020151 

“Situation Analysis of Early Implementation of Programmatic Management of Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment among Household Contacts of Pulmonary TB Patients in Delhi, India”
by Yasir Alvi, Sairu Philip, Tanu Anand, Palanivel Chinnakali, Farzana Islam, Neeta Singla, Pruthu Thekkur, Ashwani Khanna and BK Vashishat
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2024, 9(1), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed9010024 

“HLA-DPB1*05:01 and HLA-A*11:01 Is Associated with Adverse Drug Reactions to Isoniazid and Rifampin for Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in South Korea”
by Bomi Kim, Jungok Kim, Sun-Young Yoon, Hae Suk Cheong, Min-Jung Kwon, Joon-Sup Yeom, Han-Na Kim and Eun-Jeong Joo
Clin. Med. 2024, 13(12), 3563; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13123563 

“Pharmacists’ Role in Global TB Elimination: Practices, Pitfalls, and Potential”
by Alina Cernasev, Jonathan Stillo, Jolie Black, Mythili Batchu, Elaina Bell and Cynthia A. Tschampl
Healthcare 2024, 12(11), 1137; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12111137 

“Metabolic Rewiring of Mycobacterium tuberculosis upon Drug Treatment and Antibiotics Resistance”
by Biplab Singha, Sumit Murmu, Tripti Nair, Rahul Singh Rawat, Aditya Kumar Sharma and Vijay Soni
Metabolites 2024, 14(1), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14010063 

“Exploring the Impact of Silicosis Incidence on Tuberculosis Mortality and Morbidity: A Multi-Country Study”
by Muayad Albadrani
Med. Sci. 2023, 11(4), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/medsci11040063

MDPI journals will be attending the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology (ASV 2025) as exhibitors. This meeting will be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada, from 14 to 17 July 2025.

The American Society for Virology’s annual meeting provides a forum with which to promote discussion and collaboration among scientists active in all aspects of virology. Attendees will have the chance to learn about virology, share their research, and network with other scientists.

This conference is hosted by McGill University at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. The annual meeting usually attracts 1500–1800 national and international scientists for a program crafted from over 1000 participant-submitted abstracts, 20 invited symposium speakers, and 6 distinctive state-of-the-art speakers.  

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Viruses;
• Vaccines;
• Pathogens;
• CIMB;
• COVID;
• Life;
• J;
• Biomolecules;
• Aerobiology.

If you are planning to attend this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference and our booth, please visit https://asv.org/asv2025/.

MDPI will attend the 9th European Congress of Virology 2025 (ECV2025) as an exhibitor. This meeting will be held in Cavtat, Croatia, from 27 to 30 April 2025.

ECV provides a unique opportunity for European virologists from all fields of virus research to present their work, exchange ideas, and plan new exciting projects. ECV organizing and scientific committees are busy preparing a high-quality and diverse program for attendees.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Viruses;
• Pathogens;
• Diagnostics;
• COVID;
• Microbiology Research.

If you are planning to attend the above conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference and our booth, please visit the following website: https://eusv-congress.eu/.

MDPI will attend the International Virus Bioinformatics Meeting 2025 (ViBioM2025) as an exhibitor. This meeting will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, from 13 to 15 May 2025.

The International Virus Bioinformatics Meeting (ViBioM) is a pioneering conference uniting leading scientists at the intersection of virology and bioinformatics, fostering collaboration and innovation in the study of viruses.

As we navigate the rapidly changing landscape of viruses and their impact on human health and the broader ecosystem, it has become increasingly essential for virologists and bioinformaticians to work together. ViBioM2025 provides a dynamic platform for the exchange of knowledge, cutting-edge research, and groundbreaking discoveries. It will offer an excellent opportunity to present and discuss your research, (re)connect with colleagues and friends, and establish new collaborations. Its mission is to create an environment where both experts and newcomers can engage in meaningful discussions and build lasting connections. 

The scientific program will cover a wide array of topics, ensuring a comprehensive and enriching experience for all attendees.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Viruses;
• Pathogens;
• CIMB;
• COVID;
• J;
• Microorganisms;
• TropicalMed.

If you are planning to attend this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference and our booth, please visit https://evbc.uni-jena.de/events/vibiom2025/.

We are pleased to inform you that the journal Pathogens (ISSN: 2076-0817) has been officially accepted into MEDLINE, starting with Volume 13, Issue 1 (2024). This recognition underscores the high-quality research and dedication of our Editorial Board, Guest Editors, reviewers, and authors. Pathogens is now indexed within all the important databases in this field, such as Scopus, SCIE, MEDLINE, PubMed, and PMC. More indexing information can be found at https://www.mdpi.com/journal/pathogens/indexing.

To make the most of this opportunity, we would like to invite you to contribute to Pathogens. If you have a paper on any topic within the journal's scope, please feel free to submit here.

We look forward to working with you in the future.

Pathogens Editorial Office

Conference: The 24th International Pathogenic Neisseria Conference
Date: 30 March–4 April 2025
Place: Florence, Italy

We are organizing the 24th International Pathogenic Neisseria Conference, which will be held in Florence, Italy, from 30 March to 4 April 2025.

The IPNC is a biannual scientific meeting that engages basic and translational scientists with interest in two genetically related bacterial pathogens, Neisseria meningitidis, which induces devasting diseases such as meningitis and sepsis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a WHO priority pathogen resistant to most antibiotics, causing more than 80 million of sexually transmitted diseases.

Both diseases are of great public health importance in all continents and in most countries, and their prevalence has reached a critical point, thus necessitating a change in science, policy, investment and focus in high-, medium- and low-income countries.

In the case of meningococcus, for the first time in history, we have vaccines covering all pathogenic serotypes, available for infant and for adult populations as single vaccines and in combinations. During the conference, discussions will be held on epidemiology, vaccine coverage to estimate country needs, health economic evaluations, recommendations and post-licensure safety and efficacy monitoring. In addition, we will organize a round table on the WHO agenda on defeating meningitis by 2030 and the opportunity provided by the recent licensure of the ACYWX conjugate for low-income countries to eliminate such a devasting disease, especially in the Sub-Saharan African meningitis belt.

In the case of gonococcus, for the first time since the failures of the 1970s, we have proof of principle that an efficacious vaccine for gonococcus is possible. Moreover, a vaccine against meningococcus B has been shown to provide partial protection from gonococcal infection, and this observation is encouraging new investments to bring novel vaccines against a bacterium resistant to most antibiotics to clinical trials as it may become untreatable and can lead to more than 700,000 cases of the disease in the USA and more than 80 million cases globally. Infection can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancies and increases the transmission of and susceptibility to the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), thus being designated a high-priority pathogen by the WHO.

The IPNC2025 represents a great opportunity to share ideas and data on recent advances in basic, clinical and translational research as well as promote exchanges between academia and industry to stimulate new and relevant areas of research. This conference aims to gather scientists and clinicians from all over the world to connect in person and brainstorm solutions and ideas related to understanding, managing and reducing the burden of disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

The IPNC covers a wide range of topics including host responses to infection, bacterial responses and adaptation, clinical disease presentation and evaluation, diagnostics, therapy and prevention through new vaccine development, evaluation and implementation, antimicrobial resistance, epidemiology, population genomics, host–pathogen interactions, molecular physiology, gene regulation and modeling.

MDPI is pleased to share a significant milestone in its mission to advance scholarly research and promote the dissemination of knowledge—300+ MDPI journals are now indexed in Web of Science (WoS). This milestone highlights the global recognition, interdisciplinary impact and enhanced visibility of our journals. It also reflects our adherence to rigorous editorial standards, scientific integrity, and our mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines. 

To explore the full list of our journals indexed in WoS, please visit https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals/wos. Beyond expanding the coverage of our publications in the leading academic databases, we are dedicated to ensuring that our journals are included in as many scope-specific databases as possible. This increases the visibility of our authors’ work and extends the reach of their significant data. 

This milestone would not have been possible without the efforts and expertise of our academic editors, reviewers and authors. Their commitment and collaboration have been instrumental in creating an inclusive, accessible, and impactful publishing platform. We also extend our gratitude to the global research community for their trust as we continue to break new ground in academic publishing. This milestone is not just a celebration of MDPI’s progress but also recognition of the collective strides made by researchers worldwide. 

As we celebrate this remarkable accomplishment, MDPI remains steadfast in its commitment to open access publishing and ensuring that high-quality research reaches and inspires a global audience.