Zoonotic Viruses and Global Health Impact

Dear Colleagues,

Zoonotic viruses have reshaped global health, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which overwhelmed hospitals, stalled economies, and shifted geopolitical priorities. In this Special Issue, ‘Zoonotic Viruses and Global Health Impact’, we explore the challenges these pathogens pose and the urgent need for rigorous research and robust public-health responses.

The new WHO Pandemic Agreement calls for a One Health approach to Global Health, integrating prevention, research, and coordinated international action despite political challenges. By uniting virologists, clinicians, epidemiologists, climate scientists, and public-health officials, we can close knowledge gaps and develop practical strategies to shield communities. These measures will fortify our defenses against zoonotic threats and ensure COVID-19’s lessons yield a more resilient global health future.

This Issue places a special emphasis on avian influenza amongst our comprehensive exploration of zoonotic threats. Avian influenza, with its ever-evolving potential to cross species barriers, represents a continuing hazard that requires sustained surveillance and research. However, our focus extends to a broad spectrum of pathogens, as other emerging and re-emerging viruses continue to challenge the global community. The acceleration of climate change is causing shifts in the natural habitats and geographic ranges of many organisms. Notably, recent findings of arboviruses in Greenland have demonstrated that these changes are expanding the distribution of zoonotic viruses into previously low-risk areas, such as the Arctic.

This Issue invites multidisciplinary research—field surveillance, modeling, and molecular characterization of pathogenicity and antigenic shifts—to reveal how zoonotic viruses shape global health.

Dr. Jumari Snyman
Dr. Shi-Hsia Hwa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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.

• avian influenza
• SARS-CoV-2
• Mpox
• arboviruses
• lyssaviruses
• henipaviruses
• dengue virus