Recent Advances in the Diagnosis of Fish Pathogens
A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 971
Editor
Interests: fish viruses with particular focus on viral nervous necrosis (VNN); diagnosis; vaccines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Improving knowledge in the diagnosis of fish pathogens is critically important for the sustainability of aquaculture, the protection of wild fish populations, and global food security. Fish diseases remain one of the major constraints in aquaculture, leading to significant economic losses, reduced productivity, and threats to ecosystem health. As aquaculture continues to expand worldwide, the need for accurate, rapid, and reliable diagnostic methods has become more urgent than ever.
Recent advances in fish pathogen diagnostics—such as molecular techniques (PCR, qPCR, and next-generation sequencing), immunological assays, biosensors, and point-of-care diagnostic tools—have greatly improved the ability to detect pathogens early and with high specificity. Early and precise diagnosis is essential for effective disease management, as it allows timely intervention before outbreaks become widespread. This is particularly important in a globalized world where the movement of live fish and fish products can facilitate the transboundary spread of emerging and re-emerging diseases.
This Special Issue focuses on collecting recent advances in the diagnosis of fish diseases, highlighting innovative tools, methodologies, and integrated approaches for the detection and characterization of pathogens affecting aquatic organisms. The scope covers molecular, immunological, histopathological, and emerging point-of-care diagnostic technologies applied to both farmed and wild fish species, with attention to bacterial, viral, parasitic, and fungal diseases.
By emphasizing early detection, disease surveillance and pathogen characterization, this Special Issue seeks to support sustainable aquaculture, biosecurity, and aquatic animal health management.
This Special Issue usefully supplements existing literature by collating recent technological and conceptual advances that are often dispersed across journals, showcasing researchers’ effort in this field.
In conclusion, studying and advancing fish pathogen diagnostics is fundamental to sustainable aquaculture, environmental protection, and food security. Continuous improvement in diagnostic knowledge and technologies enables early disease detection, effective control measures, and long-term resilience of aquatic animal health systems.
Dr. Anna Toffan
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 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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens 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 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
- diagnostic methods
- fish diseases
- molecular diagnostic techniques
- innovative tools
- pathogen characterizations
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