One Health and Pathogens: Challenges, Opportunities and the Future

Dear Colleagues,

The One Health approach has emerged as a critical paradigm for addressing the complex interconnections between human, animal, and environmental health in the context of emerging and re-emerging pathogens. The accelerating threat of zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, vector-borne illnesses, and pandemic preparedness underscores the urgent need for integrated, multisectoral strategies that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. Recent global health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Ebola outbreaks, and the persistent challenge of antimicrobial resistance, have highlighted the inadequacy of siloed approaches to infectious disease surveillance, prevention, and control.

This Special Issue aims to advance our understanding of One Health principles and their practical application in combating pathogen-related threats at the human-animal-environment interface. We seek to foster transdisciplinary dialogue that brings together expertise from public health, veterinary medicine, environmental science, ecology, epidemiology, microbiology, social sciences, and policy studies. The Special Issue will serve as a platform for showcasing innovative research, successful case studies, and evidence-based strategies that demonstrate the value of One Health approaches in addressing global pathogen challenges. It aligns perfectly with the scope of Pathogens journal by exploring the mechanisms of pathogen emergence, transmission dynamics, surveillance systems, and intervention strategies from an integrated perspective.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Zoonotic disease emergence and spillover events
• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from a One Health perspective
• Vector-borne and climate-sensitive diseases
• Pandemic preparedness and early warning systems
• Integrated surveillance systems across human-animal-environment interfaces
• Wildlife-livestock-human pathogen transmission dynamics
• Foodborne pathogens and food safety from farm to fork
• Environmental drivers of pathogen emergence
• One Health approaches to outbreak investigation and response
• Laboratory capacity building and diagnostic innovations
• Policy frameworks and governance for One Health implementation
• Cross-sectoral collaboration models and best practices
• Economic impacts and cost-effectiveness of One Health interventions
• Social and behavioral dimensions of disease prevention
• Novel technologies and digital tools for One Health surveillance

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ranieri Guerra
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-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.