Special Issue "Chikungunya Virus and Emerging Alphaviruses"
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Viruses".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 August 2023) | Viewed by 26519
Special Issue Editors
Interests: positive-strand RNA Zika virus; Chikungunya; Dengue virus; pathogenesis
Interests: virus genomes; dengue virus; SARS-COV-2; Zika virus; Mayaro virus; vaccine development; molecular diagnosis; bacteriophages; heterologous protein expression
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging arthropod-borne virus that is widespread in tropical regions. This virus belongs to the Alphavirus genus and is transmitted to humans by the bite of Aedes spp.-infected mosquitoes, a vector commonly found in many large cities. CHIKV has an immense impact on global public health, especially in middle- and low-income countries, in which access to health is limited. Chikungunya infection is usually characterized by an abrupt onset of fever, which is commonly followed by significant joint pain. Chikungunya virus-induced joint pain is often a very debilitating symptom, lasting from a few days to several weeks or even months. Other symptoms, such as atypical neurological manifestations, have also been reported; these include meningo-encephalitis, meningoencephalo-myeloradiculitis, myeloradiculitis, myelitis, myeloneuropathy, and Guillain–Barré syndrome. Besides CHIKV, other important Alphaviruses (Mayaro, Ross River, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis, among others) can cause human disease. Despite its importance, at the present no treatment or vaccines are available to control Alphavirus infections.
Although there have been significant advances in science—such as, for instance, the implementation of novel mRNA vaccines—new emerging and re-emerging viruses still represent a major challenge to the field. For this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of original research articles, review articles, and short communications that contribute to an improved understanding of Alphaviruses. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Alphaviruses epidemiology and virus surveillance (emergence and virus evolution);
- Advances in diagnostics, treatment, and vaccines;
- Basic virology molecular aspects;
- Alphaviruses pathogenesis (including, but not limited to, host response and host factors affecting infection outcomes, animal models of infection, host innate and adaptive immunity, virus immune response evasion);
- Measures for control and prevention.
Dr. Rafael Freitas de Oliveira Franca
Dr. Sergio de Paula
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. Viruses 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 2600 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
- chikungunya virus
- alphavirus
- innate immune response
- adaptive immune response
- epidemiology
- diagnosis
- prevention
- vaccine
- animal model
- pathogenesis
- viral evolution
- in vitro
- in vivo
- mayaro virus
- ross river virus
- semliki forest virus
- venezuelan equine encephalitis virus