Abstract
Disease ecology and disease biogeography are complementary fields for the study of infectious diseases, both fields focus on the distribution and abundance of pathogens across scales. While disease ecology focuses on the study of disease systems at the local level and during short periods, disease biogeography expands the study of disease systems over large areas and prolonged periods. What is local vs. regional extents and what is short vs. prolonged periods is debatable. We propose that the study of the ecology and biogeography of disease systems takes place along a continuum, were the limits of ecology and biogeography are blurred. To demonstrate that disease systems operate from the local to the global and can be tracked from the fine to the coarse, this Research Topic compiles study cases that highlight concepts, methods, and applications of ecology and biogeography to untangle spatial patterns of disease phenomena across scales and for diverse infectious diseases.