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TropicalMed
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Respiratory Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control
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Respiratory Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control

A special issue of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (ISSN 2414-6366). This special issue belongs to the section "Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 August 2025 | Viewed by 3929

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sheikh Taslim Ali

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Guest Editor
WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, Division of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 1/F Patrick Manson Building (North Wing), 7 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong
Interests: infectious diseases epidemiology; transmission dynamics; prediction and forecast; environmental epidemiology; mitigation and control of epidemics; biostatistics; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jing X. Kersey

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences, Jiann-Ping Hsu College Public Health, Georgia Southern University, PO Box 7989, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA
Interests: statistical methods in diagnostic accuracy; mathematical modeling in infectious diseases; Bayesian data analysis; machine learning
Dr. Li Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
Interests: infectious diseases; epidemiology; biostatistics; time series; evaluation of public health intervention

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Respiratory infectious diseases pose a significant global health burden, accounting for many associated infections and high severity, highlighting the continuous need for effective, proactive, and timely interventions to control or mitigate the spread of diseases. These interventions, through public health and social measures (PHSMs) and vaccination schemes, were found to have clear data-driven capabilities in mitigating respiratory viruses, including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

The detailed data on the recent COVID-19 pandemic have raised several research questions at various levels of infectious disease epidemiology and modeling. At the parametric level, it is highlighted with regard to the improvement in the inference of epidemiological parameters and their time-varying characteristics across the outbreak’s span. Such temporal parametric information could allow us to assess the impacts of these PHSMs better and, thus, provide better real-time intervention policies. Furthermore, the epidemiological dynamics and the characteristics of these respiratory viruses would be interesting to assess during the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, accounting for their coexistence and co-circulation.

In this Special Issue, we welcome submissions of studies covering topics including, but not limited to, the epidemiology and transmission dynamics of these respiratory diseases and their control strategies, impact assessments of these interventions, predictions of population immunity, and the dynamics and disease burdens of these respiratory viruses during the pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic periods. We also welcome original research using qualitative and quantitative data, meta-analyses, or systematic reviews, as well as various types of study including brief research reports, perspectives, general commentaries, methodologies, and policy briefs.

Dr. Sheikh Taslim Ali
Dr. Jing X. Kersey
Dr. Li Li
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. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 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 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.

Keywords

  • respiratory diseases
  • epidemiology
  • dynamics
  • prediction
  • mitigation and control
  • public health policy

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 423 KiB  
Article
Acute Respiratory Viral Infections Among Adult Patients in Edirne, Turkey
by Sebnem Bukavaz, Kultural Gungor, Merve Köle and Galip Ekuklu
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(2), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10020058 - 19 Feb 2025
Viewed by 552
Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of viral agents identified by Multiplex PCR in acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI) patients at Edirne Sultan 1, Murat State Hospital, from April 2023 to April 2024, and to investigate the relationship between monthly average [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of viral agents identified by Multiplex PCR in acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI) patients at Edirne Sultan 1, Murat State Hospital, from April 2023 to April 2024, and to investigate the relationship between monthly average humidity and viral positivity rates. Methods: The study included 764 adult patients (aged 18 and older) diagnosed with influenza symptoms. Respiratory viral samples were collected and analyzed for COVID-19, influenza A and B, and RSV using Multiplex PCR, with results evaluated retrospectively. Continuous variables in the study were compared using a t-test, and categorical variables were compared with a chi-square test. A logistic regression analysis was performed for the analysis of COVID-19. In this analysis, PCR positivity was the dependent variable, while age, gender, and humidity level served as independent variables. Results: COVID-19 PCR positivity was detected in 142 patients (18.6%), with INF-A (influenza A) in 13 (3.7%), INF-B (influenza B) in 15 (4.2%), and RSV in 2 (0.6%). Higher humidity (over 60%) was associated with reduced viral PCR positivity rates for COVID-19 and influenza B, while low (up to 40%)/normal (40–60%) humidity correlated with positivity rate (p < 0.05 for both). Logistic regression analysis indicated that high humidity levels offer protection against COVID-19 (OR: 0.356; 95% CI: 0.245–0.518). Conclusions: Our study provides essential epidemiological data by summarizing monthly virus distribution in Edirne. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Respiratory Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control)
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24 pages, 2048 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Impact of Air Quality and Socioeconomic Conditions on Respiratory Disease Incidence
by Mustfa Faisal Alkhanani
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(2), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10020056 - 17 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1230
Abstract
Background and Objective: Air pollution poses significant risks to global public health and has well-established links to respiratory diseases. This study investigates the associations between air pollution markers—Air Quality Index (AQI), ambient ozone, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)—and the incidence of chronic [...] Read more.
Background and Objective: Air pollution poses significant risks to global public health and has well-established links to respiratory diseases. This study investigates the associations between air pollution markers—Air Quality Index (AQI), ambient ozone, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)—and the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and tuberculosis. It also examines how socioeconomic factors such as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, tobacco prevalence, and healthcare expenditure influence these relationships. This study includes data from 27 countries, thereby offering a global perspective to inform public health interventions and policy reforms. Methods: Data on average air pollution levels, respiratory disease incidence, and socioeconomic factors were collected from publicly available sources spanning four years. The 27 countries included in the study were selected to represent a broad range of pollution levels, income brackets, and geographical regions. Statistical analyses were performed using Python 3.12.0 to explore the relationships between these variables. Key Findings: AQI and NO2 levels were significantly associated with increased incidences of COPD and tuberculosis, with rates rising especially during periods of heightened pollution. Conversely, ambient ozone exhibited inconsistent relationships with respiratory diseases, heavily influenced by socioeconomic factors. Higher GDP per capita and healthcare expenditure were linked to improved management of infectious diseases like tuberculosis, though they also corresponded with higher reporting of chronic conditions such as COPD. Tobacco smoking emerged as a critical risk factor for COPD across all regions. Conclusions: This study underscores the strong associations between air pollutants and respiratory diseases, particularly tuberculosis and COPD, with socioeconomic factors significantly influencing these relationships. Reducing air pollution and improving healthcare systems, particularly in low-income regions, are essential to mitigating the global burden of respiratory diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Respiratory Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control)
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14 pages, 3089 KiB  
Article
Factors Associated with IgG/IgM Levels after SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer
by Wei Liao, Haoyu Liang, Yujian Liang, Xianlu Gao, Guichan Liao, Shaohang Cai, Lili Liu and Shuwei Chen
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2024, 9(10), 234; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed9100234 - 8 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1395
Abstract
This study evaluated the factors influencing IgG/IgM antibody levels in 120 patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) following vaccination with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Each patient’s demographic and clinical data were documented, and serum IgG and IgM antibodies were detected using a commercial [...] Read more.
This study evaluated the factors influencing IgG/IgM antibody levels in 120 patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) following vaccination with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Each patient’s demographic and clinical data were documented, and serum IgG and IgM antibodies were detected using a commercial magnetic chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay kit. The results indicated that while all patients had received at least one vaccine dose, 95 tested positive for IgG and 25 were negative. A higher proportion of IgG-positive patients had received three vaccine doses. Comparatively, gamma-glutamyl transferase levels were elevated in IgM-negative patients. The study further differentiated patients based on their treatment status: 46 were treatment-naive and 74 had received chemotherapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICT) at enrollment. Despite similar baseline characteristics and time from vaccination to antibody detection, IgM positivity was significantly lower in the ICT group, with no significant difference in IgG positivity between the treatment-naive and ICT groups. A multivariable analysis identified the number of vaccine doses as an independent factor of IgG positivity, while ICT emerged as an independent risk factor for IgM positivity. Additionally, IgG titers generally declined over time, although patients with higher baseline IgG levels maintained higher titers longer. In conclusion, ICT in patients with HNC does not significantly affect IgG levels post-vaccination. However, booster vaccinations have been shown to be associated with higher IgG positivity, although these levels gradually decrease over time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Respiratory Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control)
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