Genomics and Epidemiology of Protozoan Parasites
A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitic Pathogens".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 16161
Special Issue Editors
Interests: malaria; neglected tropical diseases; diagnostics; clinical studies
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Globally, more than 1 billion people are at risk of infectious diseases caused by protozoan parasites. Protozoan parasites are a large and highly diverse group of unicellular eukaryotes infecting humans and animals. The most important parasitic diseases in humans include malaria, as well as African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis, which are considered neglected tropical diseases. Gastroenteric diseases such as cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis are also caused by protozoan parasites. These diseases are considered poverty-related and are a significant health burden particularly in poor, tropical and subtropical countries. However, they occasionally occur in industrialized countries, as do toxoplasmosis and babesiosis. Infection with Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy is a serious risk to the unborn baby, and Naegleria fowleri is a free-living, rare but emerging protozoon causing severe disease.
Efficacious treatments and prevention measures are available for some of these parasitic diseases. Malaria can effectively be cured with artemisinin-based combination therapies, and even a malaria vaccine is on the horizon. Human African trypanosomiasis is reaching the elimination phase, and a new drug has recently been developed. In contrast, cure from Chagas remains difficult, as is the case for many other protozoan infections. Overall, there is a lack of safe and effective antiparasitic vaccines and treatments, and the development of resistance in parasites is worsening the situation. Apart from the overall limited efforts and financial investment, there are many reasons for this deficit. Compared to viruses and bacteria, protozoan parasites have more complex genomes, cellular structure, life cycle and biology; host–parasite interactions are not well understood; and many parasites evade the host´s immune response.
Genome-scale sequencing approaches can be applied to all areas of biological investigations, including understanding of gene function and of parasite biology, as well as a tool for epidemiological investigations such as the identification of new parasite strains, parasite transmission and spread, parasite evolution and spread of drug resistance. In this Special Issue we will provide a collection of in-depth, up-to-date genome-scale investigations on several protozoan parasites.
We invite original research and review articles reporting on protozoan parasites infective to humans. Potential topics include but are not limited to:
- Functional genomics to understand parasite biology.
- Evolutionary and comparative genomics to understand evolutionary relationships and phylogeny.
- Genomic variations in parasite populations (including resistance markers).
- Genomics epidemiology (including prevalence, geographic distribution, and transmission patterns).
Dr. Andrea Kreidenweiss
Prof. Dr. Peter G. Kremsner
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
- protozoa
- parasite
- human pathogenic
- genomics
- epidemiology
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.