Editorial: Exploring the dynamics of emerging and re-emerging diseases: from origins to impact, volume II

This editorial summarizes the collections on the Research Topic ‘Exploring the Dynamics of Emerging and Re-Emerging Diseases: From Origins to Impact, Vol. 2 ‘. Articles in this topic span several areas, including tropical disease surveillance, molecular diagnostics, arboviral diseases, SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19, prions, and Mpox-HIV co-infection.

Abdulsalam et al. conducted a review entitled “One Health innovations in tropical disease surveillance for a resilient future”. The study explores current tropical disease surveillance approaches that adopt a “One Health” perspective. They concluded that an effective ‘One Health’ strategy should be proactive rather than reactive, incorporating climate intelligence and addressing the behavioral and social drivers of disease, while also being supported by multilateral cooperation and policy continuity. The authors emphasized the importance of cross-sectoral integration to improve the early detection and response to disease. Furthermore, they argue that technologies, including artificial intelligence, genomic sequencing, environmental biosensors, and mobile health platforms, are enhancing the speed and scalability of disease detection, response, and the prevention of cross-species transmission. The study also highlighted the critical need for interdisciplinary education, policy support, and real-time data sharing to build system-wide resilience. They recommend involving local communities in ecologically sensitive tropical issues and in formulating context-specific surveillance strategies. Lastly, they argue that embedding ‘One Health’ principles into surveillance practices transforms reactive systems into resilient ones.

Iqrar et al. conducted a study entitled “Development and validation of a novel multiplex PCR assay for the detection of Anaplasma, Babesia and Theileria in captive wild ungulates”. The researchers developed a multiplex PCR (mPCR) assay to detect Babesia, Theileria and Anaplasma pathogens simultaneously at the genus level in wild ungulates. For piroplasmids (Babesia and Theileria), two pairs of primers were designed using the 18S ribosomal RNA gene. These primers were specific and sensitive and could generate target products of 178 bp for Theileria and 479 bp for Babesia. Additionally, a primer pair targeting the 16S rRNA gene was designed to generate an expected 318 bp product for Anaplasma. These three primer pairs were tested using blood samples collected from 60 captive Gazella bennettii (Family Bovidae) and Axis porcinus (Family Cervidae) from various wildlife parks and zoos in Punjab, Pakistan. The mPCR results produced by these primers were consistent with those from monoplex PCR, with an overall hemoparasites prevalence of 66.66% (40/60). Sequencing of the PCR products confirmed these results, providing a valuable complementary tool for the simultaneous, accurate and routine detection of Anaplasma and piroplasms in endangered wild ungulates.

Kotkowski et al. presented a clinical case report entitled “Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease following venison exposure in a chronic wasting disease-endemic region: a zoonotic surveillance perspective”. This study involved a thorough evaluation of the clinical progression, diagnostic assessment, and public health investigation of a patient with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), which is a fatal condition caused by prions. The results they published showed that the 72-year-old hunter developed progressive rapid dementia and startle myoclonus. During hospitalization, the patient developed posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). Magnetic resonance imaging showed cortical ribboning and diffusion restriction in the basal ganglia, while cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers (RT-QuIC, total tau and 14-3-3) and post-mortem neuropathology confirmed sporadic CJD of the MM1 subtype. The public health implications of the disease were discussed at length, particularly regarding hunters with extensive exposure to cervids.

Kuang et al. conducted a study in Qinghai Province, China titled “Mpox-HIV co-infection in a low-incidence setting: epidemiological insights from Qinghai, China”. The study examined the epidemiological characteristics and transmission dynamics of mpox–HIV co-infection in a male patient who had sex with men, as well as systemic gaps in surveillance, diagnosis, and the response to the infection. The patient presented with a fever of 39.4 °C and the recovery of mpox virus (MPXV) nucleic acid was confirmed following the collection of a nasopharyngeal swab specimen. Further characterization and identification of the virus revealed it to be MPXV clade IIb (formerly known as the West African clade), C.1.1 sub lineage, with the full designation B.1.3.1.1. As the authors suggest, the findings of this study indicate that the most likely route of exposure for the patient was high-risk sexual contact within a social or sexual network, since no history of international travel was recorded. This finding suggests that silent transmission may already be occurring in regions with low incidence.

Makam et al. conducted a study on the rates of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection and its relationship with vaccination status. They retrospectively analyzed data from patients who experienced reinfection during the second and third waves of the pandemic. Of the 458 participants in the study, 62 (13.54%) who had a primary infection were confirmed to have had a reinfection. Furthermore, 60 participants (13%) were asymptomatic, while 398 participants (87%) were symptomatic, with fever being the most frequently observed symptom during both primary (70.3%) and reinfection (72.58%) infections. Lastly, an association was observed between infection status and vomiting symptoms, which was statistically significant (p < 0.01).

Carrero and Mosquera’s article was a review of the re-emergence of arboviruses in the Andean-Amazonian corridor in Latin America. Datasets on various vector-borne diseases from selected countries were analyze from 2023 to 2026 to comprehend epidemiological trends of re-emerging diseases. The results showed persistence of malaria in Amazonian areas as well as a sustained increase in arboviruses infection such as yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya. For instance, 132 confirmed human cases of yellow fever outbreak was recorded in Colombia from 2024 to 2025 while 65 death was registered in Ecuador from 37,840 cases of dengue. Furthermore, signs of reemergence of yellow fever were observed in Venezuela during 2025 and 2026 which was attributed to the sylvatic cycles of the virus. The study revealed that the re-emergence of some arboviruses is linked to ecological, social and health factors, as well as poor health education, vaccine hesitancy, limited access to health services, the infodemic and weaknesses in epidemiological surveillance and vector control. In conclusion, the Research Topic has explored the complex and multifaceted aspects of emerging and re-emerging of vector-borne diseases. Also, this topic has provided deeper understanding of the ecological, genetic, environmental and socio-economic factors that drive the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases while exploring their cascading effects on public health, societies, and economies.

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Footnotes

Edited and reviewed by: Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales, Fundacion Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas, Colombia