Pets, Wildlife and Parasites—2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Pet ownership is a popular practice in most parts of the world. It has been estimated that 50% of people in all developed countries keep at least one pet, with dogs and cats being the most popular choices. As can be expected, for pet owners, the health and wellbeing of their animals is a primary concern; however, widespread pet ownership also requires a discussion about zoonotic diseases.

On the other hand, wild animals have a particular—and occasionally decisive—role in maintaining and spreading infectious agents; knowledge of this role is essential in research regarding both their health/conservation status and their contribution to the epizootiology of important pathogens, which may spread to domestic animals and/or to humans.

Parasites are among the most prevalent health-impairing agents affecting both pet animals and wildlife. While parasitism is the norm in wild animals, prevention and treatment aim to minimize parasitic infections/infestations in pet animals. Regardless of the affected animal species and their domesticated status, parasites may severely affect animals’ health, and parasitic diseases are occasionally fatal. Additionally, zoonotic parasitic diseases are a known threat to human health, and human infection can occur independently of a given individual’s contact with pets or wild animals.

In this context, Pathogens is launching a Special Issue entitled “Pets, Wildlife and Parasites—2nd Edition”, with the aim of sharing new information and knowledge across the scientific community through the publication of high-quality articles exploring these topics.

This Special Issue is open for the submission of research articles, interesting case presentations and review articles. Potential topics that will be considered include—but are not limited to—the following:

• Parasites and the parasitic diseases of pet animals—epizootiology (occurrence, prevalence, distribution, seasonality, new host records, etc.); bridging infections between pets and wild animals; zoonotic implications and One Health approaches; and new insights on diagnosis, treatment and prevention strategies.
• Parasites and the parasitic diseases of wild animals—investigation of parasitic fauna and its impact on wild animals’ health/conservation status; new information on epizootiology; investigations of “split over” phenomena; their effect on public health; and strategies for surveillance, control and prevention.

Dr. Anastasia Diakou
Dr. Georgiana Deak
Dr. Fabrizia Veronesi
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. Pathogens 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.

• pet animals
• dog
• cat
• wildlife
• wild animals
• parasites
• zoonosis

• Pets, Wildlife and Parasites in Pathogens (12 articles)