Medically Important Arachnids: Venoms, Envenomation, Vector-Borne Risks, and Public Health Perspectives.

Medically important arachnids represent a diverse and globally relevant group that includes venomous species such as spiders and scorpions, as well as parasitic or vector-associated groups such as ticks and mites. These organisms affect human and animal health through envenomation, allergic and inflammatory reactions, ectoparasitism, pathogen transmission, and their increasing presence in anthropogenic environments. In many regions, arachnid-related health problems continue to pose diagnostic, therapeutic, epidemiological, and public health challenges. However, important gaps remain in our understanding of their taxonomy, ecology, geographic distribution, venom composition, vector competence, population structure, evolutionary relationships, and interactions with humans, domestic animals, and changing environments.This Research Topic aims to provide an updated and interdisciplinary overview of medically important arachnids and their relevance to human health. The collection seeks to integrate basic, translational, clinical, ecological, and public health perspectives to improve the understanding of arachnid-associated risks. We particularly aim to highlight how advances in molecular biology, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, phylogeography, and surveillance can contribute to the study of arachnid diversity, venom variability, mechanisms of toxicity, pathogen transmission, adaptation to human-modifed environments, and the emergence or re-emergence of medically relevant species. We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Case Reports, and Brief Research Reports addressing medically important arachnids, including but not limited to spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, and other arachnid groups of clinical, veterinary, epidemiological, or public health relevance. Topics of interest include taxonomy, systematics, biodiversity, ecology, synanthropy, geographic distribution, climate and environmental drivers, population genetics, phylogeography, venom composition and variability, toxin function, envenomation mechanisms, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, antivenoms, vector biology, pathogen detection, surveillance, prevention, risk communication, and One Health approaches. Contributions that integrate ecological, molecular, clinical, veterinary, and public health data will be especially valuable. Topic editors: Beatriz Cancino-Faure, María Carolina Silva De La Fuente, Andrés Taucare-Ríos, Carlos Eduardo Santibanez-Lopez Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81291/medically-important-arachnids-venoms-envenomation-vector-borne-risks-and-public-health-perspectives