Advances in Infectious Disease Diagnostic and Surveillance Tools for Low Resource Settings to Combat Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging and neglected tropical diseases have the potential to significantly impact global health security and bioeconomy as a whole, especially with the effects of climate change. The potential for emerging and re-emerging vector-, water- and foodborne infectious diseases is determined by the nexus of climate hazards, vulnerability and exposure. These diseases have a high occurrence in resource-limited countries where the development of land increases the potential for zoonotic exposure and transmission. There is a greater risk among the most vulnerable populations with increased land use and changing environmental conditions. As such, the distribution of these emerging diseases into other geographic areas is likely to expand. To address globally emerging diseases threats in diverse transition settings, a variety of technologies, ranging from clinical diagnostic tools to algorithms to advanced biodetection techniques, must be developed and made available to increase equity and access to vulnerable populations. In addition, there is a need for implementing early warning systems such as human mobility monitoring, improved predictive models, vector circulation and ecotone molecular surveillance to identify early animal-human spillovers.

The goal of our proposed Research Topic is to investigate the global accessibility of technologies and resources to combat emerging and re-emerging tropical diseases. We will highlight advances in technologies that are amenable for resource-limited settings, as well as infectious disease surveillance strategies for agnostic pathogen detection.

We therefore welcome submissions relating, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Disease case studies in emerging and neglected tropical diseases;
• Applications of unbiased detection towards identifying emerging tropical disease pathogens;
• Public health emergency preparedness and response for emerging tropical diseases, as related to integration of detection technologies;
• Global health initiatives to further advocate importance of neglected tropical diseases.