Tropical Diseases: Parasite Interactions with Animal Hosts

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue (SI) entitled “Tropical Diseases: Parasite Interactions with Animal Hosts” focuses on the interactions between parasites (helminth and protozoa) and their animal hosts. When a parasite infects an animal host, interactions occur between them. Parasites affect animal hosts via physical and/or chemical stimulation, and hosts respond to these stimulations through physical, immunological, and pathological changes. Such interactions are unique and sometimes dynamic, and the changes in hosts vary from mild to drastic. The interactions can also be considered to be related to host selection and the specificity of the parasites. Generally, animal hosts attempt to expel/destroy infecting parasites through the complex responses mentioned above, while parasites attempt to survive by evading/interfering with the hosts’ protective mechanisms. As a result, these parasite–host interactions determine whether parasites are able to survive for a long period of time in the hosts or are expelled/destroyed by the host animals. Instead of expelling/destroying parasites, host animals can sometimes damage themselves through their own overresponses. Those events may induce pathological changes in the hosts. Therefore, this SI welcomes the submission of review papers which explain the mechanisms or backgrounds of such interractions between parasites and host animals. Additionally, original articles documenting the unique interactions between the two and presenting new findings are welcome. These papers may attract many readers interested in this field.

Prof. Dr. Yoichiro Horii
Prof. Dr. Nonaka Nariaki
Prof. Dr. Ayako Yoshida
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. Veterinary Sciences 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 2100 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.