About this Research Topic
The dynamic of transmissible diseases, and in particular emerging transmissible disease, is a very complex issue. Before they become diseases per se with visible symptoms there is a whole process of interactions between a microorganism and its environment. They become medical issues and diseases only at the very end of the process when symptoms are visible. However, at that point it is usually too late to stop the expansion of the microorganisms which spread silently before evidence of symptoms.
COVID-19 is an excellent example. This expansion is strongly favored by human activities. They are primarily environmental and societal issues. Finding ways to properly counteract or at least limit the expansion of a transmissible disease requires to understand the process at the early stage, i.e. before any symptoms. This is not strictly a medical approach. It is by definition a transdisciplinary approach capable of integrating data and analyses from different fields, often far away from medicine but essential to understand the dynamic of propagation of the pathogens. These works address different fields of medicine but also, ecology, geography, climate, Geographic Information System (GIS), sociology, culture, economy, urbanism, genomics, phylogeny, etc. This is essential because the microorganisms interact with their environment, whether it is natural or anthropogenic. Due to their obligate transdisciplinary nature, articles addressing this topic are often difficult to publish in specialized journals who often request a narrow scope.
The objective of this Research Topic is to offer a dedicated space for transdisciplinary and integrative articles aiming at understanding the whole dynamic of a transmissible disease and not only the clinical phase. We welcome articles addressing the complex nature and dynamic of communicable diseases through which can be rendered only by integrative and transdisciplinary studies.
For each sub-theme, all types of article are welcome. Priority will be given to studies linking various disciplines studying communicable diseases and addressing for instance (but not limited to):
• Evolution and adaptation of pathogenic organisms;
• Dynamic of epidemics;
• Environmental and spatial aspects of epidemics;
• Societal aspects of epidemics;
• Crosscutting and integrative analyses.
COVID-19 is an excellent example. This expansion is strongly favored by human activities. They are primarily environmental and societal issues. Finding ways to properly counteract or at least limit the expansion of a transmissible disease requires to understand the process at the early stage, i.e. before any symptoms. This is not strictly a medical approach. It is by definition a transdisciplinary approach capable of integrating data and analyses from different fields, often far away from medicine but essential to understand the dynamic of propagation of the pathogens. These works address different fields of medicine but also, ecology, geography, climate, Geographic Information System (GIS), sociology, culture, economy, urbanism, genomics, phylogeny, etc. This is essential because the microorganisms interact with their environment, whether it is natural or anthropogenic. Due to their obligate transdisciplinary nature, articles addressing this topic are often difficult to publish in specialized journals who often request a narrow scope.
The objective of this Research Topic is to offer a dedicated space for transdisciplinary and integrative articles aiming at understanding the whole dynamic of a transmissible disease and not only the clinical phase. We welcome articles addressing the complex nature and dynamic of communicable diseases through which can be rendered only by integrative and transdisciplinary studies.
For each sub-theme, all types of article are welcome. Priority will be given to studies linking various disciplines studying communicable diseases and addressing for instance (but not limited to):
• Evolution and adaptation of pathogenic organisms;
• Dynamic of epidemics;
• Environmental and spatial aspects of epidemics;
• Societal aspects of epidemics;
• Crosscutting and integrative analyses.
Keywords: transdisciplinary approaches, transmissible disease, communicable disease, infectious disease
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
