Infectious diseases research and clinical practice continue to evolve rapidly, driven by emerging pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, and advances in diagnostics and therapeutics. Yet individual patient cases can still challenge expectations, revealing unexpected disease mechanisms, unusual host–pathogen interactions, atypical clinical trajectories, or exceptional responses to treatment. This Research Topic aims to curate high-quality case reports that deepen understanding of infectious disease pathogenesis and translate clinical insight into improved management and therapy.
This collection will highlight unique, well-documented case reports that meaningfully advance the field of Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis and Therapy. By presenting detailed analyses of rare, surprising, or instructive cases, the Research Topic seeks to enhance mechanistic understanding, stimulate clinical and scientific discussion, and inform future research and patient care. Each case report should provide clear educational value, demonstrating diagnostic reasoning, interpretation of microbiological and/or molecular findings, and thoughtful therapeutic decision-making, with direct relevance to disease mechanisms and clinical management.
To ensure a focused and impactful collection, this Research Topic will strictly include Case Reports (and, where appropriate, clinically cohesive single-case descriptions with strong mechanistic or therapeutic insight). Submissions must be original and should offer clear novelty, such as new insights into pathogenesis, host susceptibility, diagnostic strategy, treatment approach, or clinical course.
This Research Topic is intentionally broad across human infectious diseases (viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic), while remaining centred on pathogenesis and therapy, including:
• Unusual clinical presentations or unexpected disease courses that illuminate mechanisms of infection or host–pathogen interaction • Diagnostic challenges in infectious diseases, including cases involving advanced microbiology, molecular diagnostics, sequencing, or companion diagnostics • Innovative or off-label therapeutic approaches, including anti-infectives, immuno-therapeutics, or combination regimens supported by strong clinical rationale • Infections in immunocompromised hosts, including complex host susceptibility factors and atypical pathogen behaviour • Healthcare-associated infections and complicated infections where management decisions materially influence outcomes • Antimicrobial resistance in clinical practice, including cases that highlight therapeutic dilemmas, stewardship-relevant decision points, or clinical/economic burden • Infections driven by pathogen variants with increased virulence or immune escape, with clear implications for clinical management • Treatment-related complications or exceptional outcomes that offer transferable lessons for clinical pathways and patient care
Studies focused primarily on the epidemiology and/or prevention of infectious diseases (without a clear emphasis on mechanisms and clinical management/therapy) are out of scope for this Research Topic.
To be eligible for inclusion, manuscripts must have “Case Report” in the article title.
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Brief Research Report
Case Report
Classification
Clinical Trial
Community Case Study
Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
Data Report
Editorial
FAIR² Data
Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.
Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
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.
