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Pathogens
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Zoonotic Pathogens in the Tropics: From the Forest to the...
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Zoonotic Pathogens in the Tropics: From the Forest to the Cities

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 3389

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marco Torres-Castro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Zoonoses and Other Vector-Borne Diseases, Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mérida 97000, Yucatan, Mexico
Interests: epidemiology; Leptospira; rodent-borne diseases; vector-borne diseases
Dr. Enrique Reyes-Novelo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Zoonoses and Other Vector-Borne Diseases, Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mérida 97000, Yucatan, Mexico
Interests: ecology; entomology; biostatistics; parasitology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Zoonoses are infectious diseases that are becoming relevant threats to human and animal health worldwide. They occur primarily as foci; some are spatially and temporally widespread, becoming endemic to several continents or specific regions.

The emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic diseases depend on the interactions between animal carriers, vectors, and hosts involved in the pathogen transmission. Tropical areas worldwide face relevant environmental challenges due to human socioecological interactions and macro changes like global pollution, global warming, and urban expansion.

This Special Issue will include research papers on zoonotic pathogens and their hosts in tropical areas and how they are emerging, reemerging, or changing their occurrence patterns.

Dr. Marco Torres-Castro
Dr. Enrique Reyes-Novelo
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 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. 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 2200 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

  • zoonotic diseases
  • vectors
  • animal hosts
  • transmition cycles
  • epidemiology
  • ecology diseases

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 3232 KiB  
Article
Evidence Suggesting Possible Exposure to Influenza A Virus in Neotropical Bats from Mexico
by Brenda Aline Maya-Badillo, Guillermo Orta-Pineda, Gerardo Suzán, Karen Elizabeth Rivera-Rosas, Diego Zavala-Vasco, Adrián Uribe-Jacinto, Andrea Chaves, Alfredo Grande-Cano, René Segura-Velazquez and José Iván Sánchez-Betancourt
Pathogens 2025, 14(5), 414; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14050414 - 25 Apr 2025
Viewed by 152
Abstract
With the first evidence of the association between bats and influenza A viruses, various studies have begun to emerge to understand this interesting and important association among bats conservation, animal health, and public health. This study aimed to verify the presence of anti-influenza [...] Read more.
With the first evidence of the association between bats and influenza A viruses, various studies have begun to emerge to understand this interesting and important association among bats conservation, animal health, and public health. This study aimed to verify the presence of anti-influenza A vipothesrus antibodies, as well as the molecular identification of these viruses in bats distributed in forest fragments located in southeastern Mexico. Blood samples were obtained from 600 bats belonging to 24 different species, using an enzyme immunoassay to detect antibodies against the nucleoprotein antigen of the avian influenza A virus. Likewise, oropharyngeal swabs, rectal swabs and organs were taken for quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) of these viruses. A total of six bats (1%) tested positive either by serology or molecular methods, not both simultaneously. Although this suggests a very low prevalence of influenza A viruses in Mexican bats, it is the first study to address this association and, following the precautionary principle, we consider it necessary to establish systematic monitoring of the presence of influenza A in bats, since they are known to harbor infectious agents with zoonotic potential. Furthermore, it is possible that the association of influenza A viruses circulating in Latin American bats has an important co-evolutionary component with some bat species with exclusive distribution in the American continent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Zoonotic Pathogens in the Tropics: From the Forest to the Cities)
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15 pages, 969 KiB  
Article
Vector-Borne Bacteria Detected in Ticks, Mites and Flies Parasitizing Bats in the State of Rondônia, Brazilian Amazon
by Leormando Fortunato Dornelas Júnior, Irineu Norberto Cunha, Felipe Rodrigues Jorge, Gustavo Graciolli, Ricardo Bassini-Silva, Fernando de Castro Jacinavicius, Maria Carolina A. Serpa, Marcelo Bahia Labruna, Felipe Arley Costa Pessoa and Luís Marcelo Aranha Camargo
Pathogens 2025, 14(4), 338; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14040338 - 31 Mar 2025
Viewed by 304
Abstract
Bats (Chiroptera) are among the most diverse and geographically dispersed mammals. They are of great importance to the ecosystem, as pollinators, seed dispersers and pest controllers, in addition to being hosts to several parasitic arthropods, including ticks, mites, lice, fleas and flies. Their [...] Read more.
Bats (Chiroptera) are among the most diverse and geographically dispersed mammals. They are of great importance to the ecosystem, as pollinators, seed dispersers and pest controllers, in addition to being hosts to several parasitic arthropods, including ticks, mites, lice, fleas and flies. Their diet includes the tissue and blood or other body fluids of bats. Bats are reservoirs of several disease-causing agents, many of them pathogenic to humans, such as bacteria, as well as protozoa, viruses and fungi. This study was conducted in Monte Negro, Rondônia, Brazil and the occurrence of parasitic arthropods in bats was evaluated, as well as a screening of bacteria that these ectoparasites can carry. Through a total of 69 nocturnal captures, 217 chiropterans were sampled, representing 23 species and six families. A total of 592 specimens of parasitic arthropods (ticks, mites and flies) were collected from these bats (9% dipterans, 59% ticks and 32% mites). Bartonella spp. were found in two species of bat flies (Trichobius joblingi and Strebla mirabilis) in peri-urban and forest areas with an infection rate of 62% and 38%, respectively. We report for the first time in Rondônia the argasid tick Ornithodoros hasei and its infection by a spotted fever group bacterium ‘Candidatus Rickettsia wissemanii’ in a peri-urban area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Zoonotic Pathogens in the Tropics: From the Forest to the Cities)
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19 pages, 7430 KiB  
Article
Molecular Detection of Kinetoplastid Species in Ticks and Fleas Associated with Dogs and Humans in Mexico
by Héctor M. Zazueta-Islas, Beatriz Salceda-Sánchez, Herón Huerta-Jiménez, Carlos I. Miranda-Caballero, Marlene Solis-Cortés, Yaretzi de la Cruz-Pacheco, Ana Cristina Luquín-García, Laura V. Mondragon-Peña, Jair Reyes-Hernández, José L. Bravo-Ramos, María-Guadalupe Sánchez-Otero, Javier C. Huerta-Peña, Rosa I. Hernández-Herrera, Pablo San Martin-del Angel, André Luiz Rodrigues Roque, Ángel Rodríguez-Moreno, Víctor Sánchez-Cordero, Héctor Abelardo Rodríguez Martínez, Estefania Grostieta, Ingeborg Becker and Sokani Sánchez-Montesadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Pathogens 2024, 13(12), 1072; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13121072 - 6 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1299
Abstract
The Trypanosomatidae family encompasses around 24 genera of unicellular protozoans, many of which are transmitted by various hematophagous arthropods, particularly members of the Orders Diptera and Hemiptera. Fleas and ticks—an understudied group of ectoparasites—have been shown to be hosts of a wide and [...] Read more.
The Trypanosomatidae family encompasses around 24 genera of unicellular protozoans, many of which are transmitted by various hematophagous arthropods, particularly members of the Orders Diptera and Hemiptera. Fleas and ticks—an understudied group of ectoparasites—have been shown to be hosts of a wide and crescent variety of trypanosomatid species. Further, fleas and ticks of companion animals have been particularly neglected in trypanosomatid surveillance despite the proximity to human populations and the anthropophagous habits of many of these arthropods, which can potentially act as vectors of zoonotic trypanosomatids. We aimed to identify the presence, characterize the species, and establish the prevalence of Kinetoplastids, including members of the Trypanosomatidae family, in ectoparasites collected from dogs and humans from Mexico. A total of 537 ectoparasite specimens belonging to six ectoparasite taxa (Amblyomma mixtum, A. tenellum, Ctenocephalides felis felis, Pulex simulans, Rhipicephalus linnaei, and Rh. sanguineus s.s.) were collected from 15 States of Mexico. An 800 bp fragment of the 18S-rDNA gene from kinetoplastids was amplified and sequenced. The presence of two agents (Trypanosoma caninum and Parabodo sp.) was detected in R. linnaei ticks and one (Blechomonas lauriereadi) in the cat flea Ct. felis felis. This is the first record of genetic material of kinetoplastid species in ectoparasites from dogs and humans in Mexico. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Zoonotic Pathogens in the Tropics: From the Forest to the Cities)
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17 pages, 2078 KiB  
Article
The Relationship Between the Spatial Occurrence of Leptospira Exposed Animals and the Characteristics of the Peridomiciles They Inhabit in a Locality of Southeastern Mexico
by Alejandro Suárez-Galaz, Enrique Reyes-Novelo, Anabel Cruz-Romero, Rodrigo Ramos-Vázquez, Jesús Alonso Panti-May, Hugo Ruiz-Piña, Sokani Sánchez-Montes and Marco Torres-Castro
Pathogens 2024, 13(12), 1037; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13121037 - 24 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1091
Abstract
The occurrence of Leptospira in mammals is an indicator for assessing potential health risks, particularly in tropical regions. Understanding their hosts’ habitat characteristics and spatial occurrence is essential to surveil them. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of the peridomiciles associated with [...] Read more.
The occurrence of Leptospira in mammals is an indicator for assessing potential health risks, particularly in tropical regions. Understanding their hosts’ habitat characteristics and spatial occurrence is essential to surveil them. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of the peridomiciles associated with the spatial occurrence of Leptospira hosts. We inventoried the characteristics of the peridomiciles. Blood serum was gathered from dogs, opossums, and rodents for a microagglutination essay to detect exposure to several serogroups of Leptospira. A generalized linear model with binomial distribution helped estimate risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals between a seropositive animal’s occurrence and the peridomiciles’ characteristics. For estimates with the occurrence of one or more seropositive animals, a multinomial model was fitted. The seroprevalence in rodents was 81.8%; in opossums 31.2%; and 56.5% for dogs. The most frequent serogroup in dogs and rodents was Canicola. In opossums, the seroreaction was against Tarassovi, Ballum, Sejroe, and Cynopteri. The results showed that the peridomicile area (m2), the geographic polygon, and the accumulation of plastic containers (PET) were characteristics related to the occurrence of seropositive animals. The results revealed that the peridomicile’s characteristics and spatial distribution in the locality help explain the occurrence of Leptospira hosts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Zoonotic Pathogens in the Tropics: From the Forest to the Cities)
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