Editorial: Infectious diseases (ID) - post-pandemic advances

PESCARETTI, MARÍA DE LAS MERCEDES; LOPEZ, FABIÁN E.; DELGADO, MÓNICA A.

Frontiers in Microbiology

Frontiers in microbiology

Año: 2023 vol. 14

Infectious diseases (ID) are disorders caused by microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites) living inside or outside of our bodies and are vital for the body functions. During colonization, important interactions between microorganisms and host take place. Depending on the host´s immune response and on the microorganism‘s inoculum and genetic factors, some microorganisms can become pathogenic. These IDs can be transmitted directly (person-to-person contact) or indirectly (contact with contaminated surfaces, insect bites, or by contaminated food and water consumption). Taking in account the source and contamination levels, an ID can appear in a specific geographical area and time (epidemic); can be present permanently in a population (endemic diseases), or can be spread rapidly to several regions, countries and continents (pandemic). Some ID cause symptoms that can regularly be overcome, while other ID are life-threatening and may require hospitalization, increasing healthcare costs.The objective of this topic was to create a space where scientific progress was reflected, determine the incidence and contribute to overcoming the problems produced by ID after the COVID-19 pandemic period, promoting the development of new rapid detection and control techniques that can be applied to improve human health. Approximately eighteen works were analyzed, seven of which contributed significant data to the pursued objective.