Advances in the Antigenic Detection of Sylvatic Arbovirus Transmission
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Viruses".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2027 | Viewed by 58
Editor
Interests: virus; arboviruses; antigen design; viral detection; epitope mapping; point-of-care viral detection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The escalating frequency of zoonotic spillovers involving sylvatic arboviruses, such as yellow fever, Mayaro, Oropouche, and encephalitic alphaviruses, constitutes a critical vulnerability in global health security. The continuous enzootic circulation of these pathogens in forest-dwelling reservoirs and amplification hosts presents a persistent risk of urban emergence, driven by anthropogenic environmental changes, habitat loss, and expanding urbanization.
Field monitoring of sylvatic arboviruses faces multiple technical challenges, including low viral titres in wildlife samples and substantial antigenic cross-reactivity among orthoflaviviruses and segmented RNA arboviruses (cross-reactivity is more limited among alphaviruses, occurring unidirectionally only in acute cases). While genomic surveillance has achieved notable successes in certain settings, its widespread deployment remains constrained by high costs, logistical complexity, and limited direct applicability in remote field locations. Antigen-based detection offers a complementary solution, with advantages in speed, portability, and minimal equipment requirements for resource-limited settings.
Recent advances in synthetic biology, immunoinformatics (e.g., epitope prediction and molecular modeling), and point-of-care detection are enabling the rational design of recombinant antigens optimized for epitope specificity. The integration of such antigens into high-sensitivity biosensors offers an unprecedented opportunity to detect and distinguish closely related viral species directly in the field.
This Special Issue focuses on the intersection of biotechnology and field epidemiology, highlighting how advanced antigenic detection can transform our understanding of sylvatic transmission dynamics and provide early warning systems for emerging viral threats. We invite original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and methodological advancements in this area.
Dr. Ricardo Gonçalves
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- zoonotic spillover
- antigenic detection
- one health surveillance
- viral ecology
- emerging pathogens
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