Canine Leishmaniasis: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Pathogenesis, Treatment and Vaccine

Dear Colleagues，

Leishmaniasis is a group of parasitic infectious diseases that are caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania. In general, we can separate leishmaniasis into tegumentary leishmaniasis and visceral leishmaniasis. Dogs are considered as the main urban carriers of the disease in its visceral form in Central and South America, as well as in the Mediterranean basin. In addition, the disease has a high mortality rate for dogs, and we do not have efficient drugs or vaccines. Leishmaniases are considered to be neglected in terms of research and the involvement of pets in the transmission cycle increases the risk for humans. Leishmaniasis vectors are Phlebotomine insects with predominantly wild behavior, but show clear adaptations to urban environments. On the other hand, dogs are frequently infected with dermotropic species, which cause disease, but the role of the dog in this context is underexplored. In this way, no health guideline clearly indicates how to treat or take care of dogs with tegumentary leishmaniasis. It is extremely important for human and veterinary medicine to increase our knowledge of several aspects of these diseases, ranging from epidemiology and their pathogenesis mechanisms to the development of vaccines for dogs. This Special Issue aims to publish original articles, reviews, case reports and communications that are related to pathogenesis, testing new drugs, new treatment strategies, identification of target molecules with potential use in treatment/prevention and serological, molecular, and parasitological diagnoses that can be used to improve the control of canine leishmaniasis.

Dr. Fernanda Nazaré Morgado
Dr. Renato Porrozzi
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-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.