Special Issue: Emerging and Re-Emerging Zoonoses in this Changing World

A wide range of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases remain a major threat to human health and affect global economic development. Since 2000, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as SARS, MERS, Ebola viral disease, Zika virus disease, and COVID-19 have killed millions of people across the world and caused trillions in economic losses. Among these communicable diseases, there are more than 200 types of zoonoses, which not only harm human health but also affect animal husbandry development, resulting in enormous social and economic burdens in the world. Notably, COVID-19, an emerging zoonosis that was firstly reported in China, before spreading rapidly across the world. To date, more than 130 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and approximately 3 million deaths occur in the world. The pandemic of COVID-19 makes zoonoses more widely recognized throughout the world and reminds one of the long-lasting challenges of human and public health.

Given the profound impact of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases on global health and economic stability, Zoonoses publishes this special issue to address the ongoing challenges posed by these threats, particularly zoonotic diseases, and to advance research aimed at their prevention and control.