Authors Instructions
Starting on January 1, 2024, all submissions to EID should follow the requirements and guidance found in the revised Author Instructions and include a completed copy of the revised Author Checklist.
Table of Contents
2.13 Book or Other Media Review
2.18 Emerging Infections Network (EIN) Letters
3.1 General Editorial Guidance
Scientific Misconduct, including Plagiarism
Use of Chatbots/Artificial Intelligence
Deceptive Manipulation of Images
Disclosure of Financial and Nonfinancial Potential Relationships and Potential Conflicts of Interest
3.3 Prior Publication and Preprint Archives
3.4 Authorship and Acknowledgments
4.0 The EID Peer Review Process
5.1 Reporting Guidelines for Research
Randomized Trials: Follow the CONSORT Guideline
Observational Studies: Follow the STROBE Statement
Genetic Association Studies: Follow the STREGA Reporting Guidelines
Case Reports: Follow the CARE Guidelines
Surveys: Follow the AAPOR Guidelines
Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses: Follow the PRISMA 2020 Statement or the MOOSE Guidelines
Health Economic Evaluations: Follow the CHEERS 2022 Statement
Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy: Follow the STARD Guidelines
Some Key Points on Statistical and Methods Presentation
5.3 Special Guidance for Mathematical, Economic, and Statistical Manuscripts
Personal Communications and Unpublished Data
1.0 Call for Manuscripts
EID invites you to submit original, valuable, scientifically valid, and well-crafted manuscripts that contribute importantly to the scientific literature. When published, your article should help public health and infectious disease professionals around the world to understand, prevent, treat, and eliminate emerging infectious diseases.
These Author Instructions are intended to assist you in submitting your manuscript to EID. To help ensure that your manuscript is processed as quickly as possible by the journal, you should read and follow these Instructions carefully.
The journal follows 2 sets of guidelines for submitted manuscripts: 1) these Author Instructions, 2) the AMA Manual of Style, 11th Edition, 2020 (AMA Manual).
To determine the applicable standard for any editorial point related to submissions, you should first peruse articles in the journal that are like your intended submission, then consult and follow these instructions, and then, if these Instructions are silent on the style point in question, consult and follow the AMA Manual. If you still have questions after consulting all these sources, contact the journal's editors at eideditor@cdc.gov.
These Instructions cover the policies of EID on many editorial issues of concern to authors. The journal also follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), certain reporting guidelines posted on the Equator Network, and certain other guidelines listed in these Instructions. For reference format, the journal follows the National Library of Medicine Style Guide, Citing Medicine, 2nd edition.
2.0 Article Types
Authors must choose an article type before beginning the submission process. EID publishes articles of 17 different types. A detailed description of each type follows and is also available in this Quick Guide to Article Types.
Submissions of all types undergo peer review and the majority will require all of the components appearing in the bulleted list that follows. For example. all manuscript types must be submitted with corresponding author contact information and a first author biographical sketch unless otherwise noted. After this first list of universal requirements, the special requirements for each article type follow. Manuscripts of all types may be accompanied by appendices.
- EID’s Author Checklist
- Cover letter
- Corresponding author’s contact information (email and mailing address)
- ORCiD number for first and corresponding authors
- Author biography (unless otherwise noted); if there are 2 ‘first’ authors, a biography will be needed for each of the 2 authors
- One-sentence summary line
- Running head
- Keywords
2.1 Perspective
- Text maximum of 3,500 words
- Unstructured 150-word abstract
- Figures and tables as needed (no maximum); photographs and illustrations are encouraged
- Maximum of 50 references
- Special requirements: freeform subheadings in the body of the text
- Example: Ducrot C, Hobeika A, Lienhardt C, Wieland B, Dehays C, Delabouglise A, et al. Antimicrobial Resistance in Africa—How to Relieve the Burden on Family Farmers. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021;27(10):2515−2520. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/10/21-0076_article
Perspectives provide insightful analysis and commentary about new and reemerging infectious diseases and related issues. These manuscripts may address factors known to influence the emergence of diseases, such as microbial adaptation and change, human demographics and behavior, technology and industry, economic development and land use, international travel and commerce, and the strength of public health measures. Authors should use freeform subheadings in the main body of the text to improve readability.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.2 Synopsis
- Text maximum of 3,500 words
- Unstructured 150-word abstract
- Tables and figures as needed (no maximum
- Maximum of 50 references
- Special requirements: subheadings in body of text
- Typically includes case series, outbreak reports, studies of the geographic spread of emerging infectious diseases, systematic reviews, meta-analyses
- Example: Castel G, Filippone C, Tatard C, Vigan J, Dobigny G. Role of Seaports and Imported Rats in Seoul Hantavirus Circulation, Africa. Emerg Infect Dis. 2023;29(1):20−25. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/10/22-0498_article
Synopses comprise case series papers and concise reviews of infectious diseases or closely related topics, with preference given to reviews of new and emerging diseases. Photographs and illustrations are encouraged.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.3 Research
- Text maximum of 3,500 words
- Unstructured 150-word abstract
- Tables and figures as needed (no maximum)
- Maximum of 50 references
- Special requirements: subheadings in body of text
- Typically includes descriptive studies, cohort studies, community-based studies, case-control and case-series studies, studies on disease burden and the results of disease surveillance, surveys, clinical trials, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit studies, modeling studies, studies of test performance, other epidemiological and observational studies
- Example: Cassir N, Cardona F, Tissot-Dupont H, Bruel C, Doudier B, Lahouel S, et al. Observational Cohort Study of Evolving Epidemiologic, Clinical, and Virologic Features of Monkeypox in Southern France. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022;28(12):2409−2415. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/12/22-1440_article
Research articles report laboratory or epidemiologic results, or both within a public health perspective. These articles explain the value of the research in public health terms and place the findings in a larger perspective (i.e., "Here is what we found, and here is what the findings mean"). Authors should use subheadings in the main body of the text (e.g., "Materials and Methods," "Results," and "Discussion"). Illustrations are encouraged.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.4 Policy Review
- Text maximum of 3,500 words
- Unstructured 150-word abstract
- Tables and figures as needed (no maximum)
- Maximum of 50 references
- Special requirements: freeform subheadings in body of text
- Example: Lin C, Braund WE, Auerbach J, Chou J, Teng J, Tu P, et al. Policy Decisions and Use of Information Technology to Fight COVID-19, Taiwan. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020;26(7):1506−1512. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0574_article
Articles in this section include public health policy discussions based on research and analysis of emerging disease issues. Photographs and illustrations are encouraged.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.5 Historical Review
- Text maximum of 3,500 words
- Unstructured 150-word abstract
- Tables and figures as needed (no maximum)
- Maximum of 50 references
- Special requirements: freeform subheadings in body of text
- Example: Roosen J, Curtis DR. Dangers of Noncritical Use of Historical Plague Data. Emerg Infect Dis. 2018;24(1):103−110. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/24/1/17-0477_article
Articles in this section include public health historical reports based on research and analysis of emerging disease issues. Photographs and illustrations are encouraged. Note: Articles submitted in this category are subject to longer acceptance times because they are often held to be published in support of a topic or theme for a monthly issue.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.6 Dispatch
- Text maximum of 1,200 words
- Unstructured 50-word abstract
- Maximum of 4 figures and tables total, e.g. 2 figures and 2 tables; 1 figure and 3 tables; 4 figures and no tables
- Maximum of 15 references
- Special requirements: subheadings in body of text
- Typically includes case reports or short updates on infectious disease trends and research or infectious disease prevention or elimination programs, or the isolation, characterization, or epidemiology of new pathogens or hosts
- Example: Varnaitė R, Gredmark-Russ S, Klingström J. Deaths from Tick-Borne Encephalitis, Sweden. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022;28(7):1471−1474. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/7/22-0010_article
Dispatches are case reports or short updates on infectious disease trends and research that include descriptions of new methods for detecting, characterizing, or subtyping new or reemerging pathogens, or developments in antimicrobial drugs, vaccines, or infectious disease prevention or elimination programs. Authors should use subheadings in the body of the text (e.g., “The Study” and “Conclusions”) to improve readability.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.7 Commentary
- By invitation only
- Text maximum of 1,000 words
- No abstract needed
- No figures or tables
- Maximum of 15 references
- Example: Meltzer MI, Patel A. Stockpiling Ventilators for Influenza Pandemics. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017;23(6):1021−1022. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/23/6/17-0434_article
Commentaries are thoughtful discussions of current topics. Only invited commentaries will be considered for publication.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.8 Photo Quiz
- Text maximum of 1,200 words
- No abstract needed
- One image or photograph of the subject
- Maximum of 15 references
- Special requirements: an image of the subject, brief clues to the person's identity, and 5 possible answers to the quiz question.
- Example: Photo Quiz (The scientist who first showed that insects play a role in infectious disease transmission) https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/7/21-0818_article
The Photo Quiz uses a quiz question to highlight a person who made notable contributions to public health and medicine. Note: Articles submitted in this category are subject to longer acceptance times because they are often held to be published in support of a topic or theme for a monthly issue.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.9 Research Letter
- Text maximum of 800 words
- Unstructured 50-word abstract
- Maximum of 2 figures or tables, total, e.g. 1 figure and 1 table; 2 figures and no tables; 2 tables and no figures
- Maximum of 10 references
- Example: Vallée A, Chatelain A, Carbonnel M, Racowsky C, Fourn E, Zucman D, et al. Monkeypox Virus Infection in 18-Year-Old Woman after Sexual Intercourse, France, September 2022. Emerg Infect Dis. 2023;29(1):219−222. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/1/22-1643_article
Research Letters report cases, outbreaks, or original research in a highly abbreviated form.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.10 Comment Letter
- Text maximum of 300 words
- No abstract needed
- First author biography not required
- No figures or tables
- Maximum of 5 references
- Typically includes comments about or criticism of a previously published article in EID
- Examples: Rule AM. COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with Air Conditioning in Restaurant, Guangzhou, China, 2020. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020;26(11):2790. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/11/20-2948_article
- Response from the original authors: Lu J, Yang Z. COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with Air Conditioning in Restaurant, Guangzhou, China, 2020. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020;26(11):2789−2791. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/11/20-3774_article
These brief letters make comments on articles previously published in the journal. They are more likely to be published if submitted within 4 weeks of the original article's (i.e., commented-upon) publication. Comment letters go through peer review, and, in cases where they criticize another author's work, at the discretion of the Editor in Chief, they are sent to the author of the original article for response. Those responses may be published concurrent to the Comment Letter.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.11 Reply to Comment Letter
- By invitation
- Text maximum of 300 words
- No abstract needed
- First author biography not required
- No figures or tables
- Maximum of 5 references
In these brief letters, authors reply to comments or criticism in a Comment Letter accepted for publication regarding the author’s original article published in EID.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.12 In Memoriam
- Text maximum of 1,200 words
- No abstract
- One high resolution photo of the person memorialized
- References as needed (no maximum)
- Example: Morens DM, Chitale RA. In Memoriam: Myron Gilbert Schultz (1935–2016). Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25(8):1617–1619. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/25/8/19-0356_article
In Memoriam honors someone who made contributions to the field of emerging infectious diseases and has died. We recommend contacting the journal before submitting this type of article.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.13 Book or Other Media Review
- By invitation only
- Text maximum of 500 words
- No abstract needed
- A figure depicting the product is recommended
- No references
- Special requirements: include title of the reviewed book or media, author, publisher, number of pages, length and format of media, and key details
- Example: Bianchi KM. Global Health Security: A Blueprint for the Future. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022;28(12):2587. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/12/22-1035_article
Books or other media reviews focus on issues and topics relevant to emerging infectious diseases. Only invited book and media reviews will be considered for publication.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.14 Another Dimension
- Text maximum of 3500 words
- No abstract, except an unstructured 50-word abstract for essays
- Tables and figures as needed (no maximum)
- Maximum of 50 references
- Example: Han Q, Curtis DR. Social Responses to Epidemics Depicted by Cinema. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020;26(2):389–394. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/2/18-1022_article
Another Dimension articles include essays, short stories, or poems on philosophical issues related to science, medical practice, and human health. Topics may include science and the human condition, the unanticipated side of epidemic investigations, or how people perceive and cope with infection and illness. Manuscripts are selected as much for the experiences they describe as for their literary merit. This section is intended to evoke compassion for human suffering and to expand the science reader’s literary scope. Note: Articles submitted in this category are subject to longer acceptance times because they are often held to be published in support of a topic or theme for a monthly issue.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.15 About the Cover (Cover Essay)
- Text maximum of 900 words
- No abstract needed
- Summary line not required
- First author biography not required
- Special requirements: one high resolution image to be used on the cover of the journal; up to two secondary images might be permitted
- Example: Examples may be found in every issue of the journal
About the Cover is a peer-reviewed article that links the cover art to and the theme of the month’s issue.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.16 Etymologia
- Text maximum of 100 words
- No abstract needed
- Summary line not required
- First author biography not required
- Maximum of 1 Image from a primary source (i.e., not Wikipedia or Wikimedia)
- Maximum of 5 references
- Example: Partin WC, Bradbury RS. Etymologia: Pseudoterranova decipiens. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022;28(11):2302–2303. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/11/22-0792_article
Etymologia articles are thoroughly researched derivations of emerging disease terms that include a brief scientific or historical context. Prospective authors should search the list of previously published Etymologia before submitting an article to avoid topic duplication. Note: Articles submitted in this category are subject to longer acceptance times because they are often held to be published in support of a topic or theme for a monthly issue.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.17 Online Report
- Text maximum of 3500 words
- Unstructured 150-word abstract
- Tables and figures as needed (no maximum)
- References as needed (no maximum)
- Special requirements: Should be authored by a group
- Special note: EID does not publish official guidelines or policy recommendations.
- Example: Chughtai AA, Seale H, Macintyre C. Effectiveness of Cloth Masks for Protection Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020;26(10):1–5. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/8/22-0094_article
Online Reports are typically reports of consensus group meetings, opinions or recommendations from an authoritative workshop, position statements, or other activities in which suggestions for diagnostic, treatment, or reporting methods related to infectious disease topics are formulated.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
2.18 Emerging Infections Network (EIN) Letters
- Text maximum of 800 words
- Unstructured 50-word abstract
- Maximum of 2 figures or tables, total, e.g., 1 figure and 1 table; 2 figures and no tables; 2 tables and no figures
- Maximum of 10 references
Emerging Infections Network (EIN) Letters focus on emerging infections-related clinical or public health issues and typically revolve around diagnosis, treatment, quality, safety, or healthcare policy. Submitting/corresponding authors should be members of the Emerging Infections Network. Please contact the journal before submission.
Note: Only members of the Emerging Infections Network may submit articles in this category. We recommend contacting the journal before submitting your article.
Remember to include the EID Author Checklist with each submission.
3.0 Publishing Considerations
3.1 General Editorial Guidance
EID strives to publish information that its intended audience, professionals around the world who work in infectious diseases and related sciences, and especially public health professionals, are likely to find of practical value. Articles should reflect the practical realities of public health. For example, purely conceptual modeling articles are not likely to be of practical use in public health practice and are not likely to be accepted.
Although concision is a virtue in scholarly writing, EID also recognizes the importance of thoroughness in scientific communications. Thoroughness is especially important in the writing of the Methods section of research articles. All such articles should contain sufficient description of the methods to allow independent replication of results by another researcher with suitable skills and interest. See also AMA Manual, Section 2.8.
3.2 Ethics
EID follows the current human research ethics recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). When ethics questions arise, EID editors often consult the practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics and the World Association of Medical Editors.
Informed Consent
The ICMJE recommendations state in part
All investigators should ensure that the planning, conduct, and reporting of human research are in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013. All authors should seek approval to conduct research from an independent local, regional or national review body (e.g., ethics committee, institutional review board). See ICMJE, "Protection of Research Subjects"
You must attest on the EID Author Checklist accompanying your submitted manuscript that you have "documented whether your research has been approved by appropriate human or animal subjects research review boards, which are named in the manuscript." You must state in the main text of the manuscript, usually at the end of the first paragraph in the Methods section, the full name and institution of the review body that approved the research, the type of approval received, and the type of informed consent obtained from research subjects, if applicable. EID reserves the right to request that authors provide documentation of the approval.
Ethics boards may consider some research to be exempted from formal ethics board review, such as a secondary analysis of nonidentifiable patient data. In such cases, you must name the institution that determined the research to be exempt from formal review and the reasons why.
Privacy of Research Subjects
In addition to their right to informed consent, research subjects and patients have a right to privacy. EID follows the current recommendations of the ICMJE, which state in part
Identifying information, including names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, or pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. … Nonessential identifying details should be omitted. Informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt that anonymity can be maintained….
Prior to submitting manuscripts that may implicate the privacy of human subjects, you should consult and be familiar with the current recommendations of the ICMJE.
Scientific Misconduct, including Plagiarism
In matters relating to scientific misconduct, EID follows the recommendations of the ICMJE. You should be familiar with ICMJE standards on such topics as data fabrication and falsification, manipulated or deceptive images, failure to disclose potential conflicts of interest, plagiarism (including "self-plagiarism"), duplicate or prior publication, secondary publication, and multiple submitted manuscripts from the same database ("salami publication").
As part of the submission process, all authors must attest that their manuscript (or one with substantially similar content written by the authors) has not been published previously (see information in Section 3.3 of this document concerning posting on Preprint Servers) and is not under consideration by any other journal. Although EID publishes only original, previously unpublished materials, under certain circumstances, EID may consider previously published material for secondary or simultaneous publication. Authors who wish to seek secondary or simultaneous publication should contact the journal’s administrative staff at eideditor@cdc.gov.
EID considers plagiarism (the use of another author’s words or ideas without attribution) to be scientific misconduct, and the journal generally follows the guidelines of the ICMJE and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Regarding “text recycling,” the use of the same text in more than one of an author’s own publications, EID generally follows the guidelines of COPE. The journal considers each instance of plagiarism or text recycling on a case-by-case basis and in context. EID cannot provide a particular similarity score or percent of text duplication that it would deem to be plagiarism or text recycling. At a minimum, when authors use recycled text―for instance in describing methods that they or other researchers have previously used―EID requires that all authors be transparent and careful to acknowledge the source of the text in a citation.
If you have questions about whether certain situations might constitute scientific misconduct, you should consult with the journal eideditor@cdc.gov before submitting your manuscript.
Use of Chatbots/Artificial Intelligence
Text or ideas generated by chatbots (or any other artificial intelligence programs or assistance) have begun to appear in scholarly literature, spurred by the release of ChatGPT in early 2023. For the use of chatbots or other artificial intelligence tools, EID follows the recommendations of WAME, which state, in brief, the following:
1. Chatbots cannot be authors.
2. Authors should be transparent when chatbots are used and provide information about how they were used.
3. Authors are responsible for the work performed by a chatbot in their paper (including the accuracy of what is presented, and the absence of plagiarism) and for appropriate attribution of all sources (including for material produced by the chatbot).
4. Editors need appropriate tools to help them detect content generated or altered by AI. Such tools should be made available to editors regardless of ability to pay for them, for the good of science and the public, and to help ensure the integrity of healthcare information and reducing the risk of adverse health outcomes.
If you use a chatbot's help to write your manuscript, including text or graphics, you should consult and follow current WAME Recommendations on Chatbots and Generative Artificial Intelligence in Relation to Scholarly Publications. Note that EID prefers not to publish figures, graphs, or images created by using artificial intelligence.
For EID, this information should be placed in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript. In addition, you must indicate on the EID Author Checklist whether you have used a chatbot to help write your manuscript
Deceptive Manipulation of Images
Deceptive manipulation of images is scientific misconduct. You must indicate on the EID Author Checklist that you have disclosed all manipulations (e.g., adjustments, enhancements) of images in your manuscript, and you must attest that the image has not been duplicated in whole or in part within the manuscript, You must also attest that the images have not been previously published elsewhere, unless reproduced with permission. Failure to follow these requirements may lead to rejection of a submission.
Experiments on Animals
In accordance with the ICMJE recommendations, when reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether institutional and national standards for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed, and if so, which standards were followed.
Disclosure of Financial and Nonfinancial Potential Relationships and Potential Conflicts of Interest
EID follows the recommendations of the ICJME regarding authors' disclosure to readers of financial and nonfinancial relationships and activities, and conflicts of interest. If any of the authors or their affiliated institutions have any ownership, patent, royalty or other financial interest in the technique or reagents, we require that information to be included in the manuscript near the acknowledgement section.
Authors should be familiar with the ICMJE recommendations (see Section II.B). As stated by the ICMJE, "Perceptions of conflict of interest are as important as actual conflicts of interest. … Ultimately, readers must be able to make their own judgments regarding whether an author's relationships and activities are pertinent to a paper's content. These judgments require transparent disclosures."
As part of manuscript submission to EID, the submitting author must attest on the EID Author Checklist that the following are disclosed in the manuscript: financial support for the work; any organization or person with a financial interest in the subject matter; any authors' conflicts of interest related to the article. The ICMJE posts a Conflict of Interest form, which EID accepts.
3.3 Prior Publication and Preprint Archives
EID publishes only original, previously unpublished materials. As part of the submission process, authors must attest in the EID Author Checklist that "This manuscript (or one with substantially similar content written by the authors) has not been published previously."
EID will consider for publication manuscripts that have been posted on reputable, not-for-profit preprint archives (e.g., bioRxiv). During submission, authors must indicate on the accompanying EID Author Checklist and in their submission cover letter where their article has been posted. They must also agree, if the article is accepted, to update the archived preprint with their article’s Digital Object Identifier (DOI), a link to the version of the article published in EID, and a complete citation upon publication in EID.
In addition, EID encourages authors to consult the recommendations of ICMJE, Section III.D.3.a, regarding the choice of a preprint archive. The recommendation states that authors who wish to make preprints available on such archives should choose archives that have the following characteristics, in addition to those mentioned previously:
- Clearly identify preprints as work that is not peer reviewed.
- Require authors to document disclosures of interest.
- Require authors to indicate funding source(s).
- Have a clear process for preprint archive users to notify archive administrators about concerns related to posted preprints—a public commenting feature is desirable for this purpose.
- Maintain metadata for preprints that are withdrawn from posting and post withdrawal notices indicating the timing and reason for withdrawal of a preprint.
Authors may contact EID at eideditor@cdc.gov to discuss whether a preprint posting will affect the eligibility of the article for publication in EID.
3.4 Authorship and Acknowledgments
EID follows the authorship and acknowledgment recommendations of the ICMJE. Upon submission, the corresponding author must attest on the EID Author Checklist that "all authors and contributors meet the ICMJE criteria for those roles, and all persons who made substantial contributions to this work but who did not fulfill the authorship criteria are named in the acknowledgments." The corresponding author also must attest on the EID Author Checklist that written permission has been obtained from all persons listed as authors of this manuscript and from all persons listed in the acknowledgments.
In accordance with the ICMJE recommendations, authorship should be based on
1. substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
2. drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
3. final approval of the version to be published; AND
4. agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
The list of authors should include all those, and only those, who can legitimately claim authorship in accordance with all 4 ICMJE factors. Also, according to the ICMJE, "all individuals who meet the first criterion should have the opportunity to participate in the review, drafting, and final approval of the manuscript." Acquisition of funding, collection of data, general supervision of the research group, or general administrative support to it, or writing assistance alone do not warrant authorship.
As stated by the ICMJE, "it is the collective responsibility of the authors, not the journal to which the work is submitted, to determine that all people named as authors meet all four criteria; it is not the role of journal editors to determine who qualifies or does not qualify for authorship or to arbitrate authorship conflicts."
In accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations, nonauthor contributors (i.e., those who meet fewer than all 4 of the ICMJE criteria), such as persons who assisted with data collection, analysis of the results, or helped write or edit the manuscript, should be mentioned in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript if they meet the criteria of the ICMJE, and their contribution should be specified (e.g., advised the authors, reviewed statistical testing, worked as author's editor).
4.0 The EID Peer Review Process
EID is a peer-reviewed journal. Submitted manuscripts are managed via an online editorial system, ScholarOne Manuscripts. EID uses a single-blind peer review system, in which the reviewers know the names and affiliations of the authors while the identities of peer reviewers remain anonymous to the authors and other reviewers, unless the reviewer specifically requests to be identified. Authors are permitted to recommend appropriate peer reviewers, and the journal may consider them when selecting peer reviewers for the manuscript.
Initially, the Editor in Chief (or in some cases the Deputy Editor in Chief) screens original submissions, rejects manuscripts that are of unsuitable quality or do not appear to contribute importantly to the literature, and selects manuscripts deemed appropriate for peer review. The Editor in Chief often consults preliminarily with experts in the field to better understand the potential importance of a manuscript, and then assigns manuscripts deemed appropriate for peer review to associate editors or members of the editorial board. Those editors send the manuscript to peer reviewers who are subject matter experts in the field of interest. The journal provides peer reviewers with a copy of the entire manuscript, the EID Author Checklist, and associated files, such as graphics or technical appendices. Peer reviewers are bound to follow the ethics guidelines of the ICMJE for reviewers, including confidentiality and disclosure of potential conflicts of interest or recusal (see ICMJE Recommendations, Sections II.B.1.b and II.C). Most full-length manuscripts are reviewed by two or more reviewers, in addition to reviews by an associate editor and the Editor in Chief. Certain manuscripts are reviewed by statisticians.
Peer reviewers evaluate the manuscript based on its scientific quality, originality, public health utility, and the degree to which its methods are adequate, results are valid, conclusions are reasonable, and writing is clear and understandable. After peer review is complete, and all comments and recommendations from the reviewers and assigned editor are compiled, the Editor in Chief makes the final decision on accepting or rejecting the manuscript, or may return the manuscript to the authors with reviewer comments and a recommendation for further revision. In making the final decision, the Editor in Chief may consider not only the quality of the manuscript and its ability to contribute to the literature, but also the suitability of the manuscript for the journal compared to other manuscripts under consideration. An invitation to revise a manuscript is not a guarantee of acceptance.
Nearly all manuscripts considered for acceptance go through at least one revision based on the comments of the peer reviewers and editors. Some manuscripts may require multiple revisions before a final determination can be made. After final acceptance, all manuscripts are copyedited to conform to EID’s style, word count limits, and requirements for formatting, references, figures, units of measure, and scientific nomenclature. Note that authors agree to this copyediting process when they complete EID Author Checklist.
Appeals
Authors of rejected manuscripts may appeal the decision to the Editor in Chief, who will read and consider them. Appeals must be submitted within 6 weeks of rejection. Reversal of rejection decisions are rare.
5.0 Editorial Policies
5.1 Reporting Guidelines for Research
According to the Equator Network, a reporting guideline is "a simple, structured tool for health researchers to use while writing manuscripts. A reporting guideline provides a minimum list of information needed to ensure a manuscript can be, for example, be understood by a reader, replicated by a researcher, used by a doctor to make a clinical decision, and Included in a systematic review." Most reporting guidelines are accompanied by checklists of items that authors should follow in drafting their manuscripts. Many journals now encourage authors of research articles to follow reporting guidelines.
EID strongly encourages authors of research articles to follow the appropriate reporting guidelines for the kind of study they are presenting. By following a guideline, authors can avoid common pitfalls and delays in reviewing submitted manuscripts. Many peer review comments can be obviated through the careful use of these guidelines. In their cover letter to EID accompanying their submission, authors should state whether they followed a reporting guideline, and, if so, which one.
The Equator Network is a comprehensive database of reporting guidelines Many of the guidelines mentioned below have "extensions," sub-guidelines that address specific subtypes of studies. Authors should choose the guideline that best fits their research study. Authors may choose to follow guidelines that do not appear in the list below, but they should specify which guideline they used in their cover letter. Some authors prefer to mention the guideline they followed in the Methods section of their manuscript.
Randomized Trials: Follow the CONSORT Guideline
The CONSORT 2010 Statement covers the reporting of various types of randomized trials, such a randomized clinical trial, crossover trials, and equivalence and noninferiority trials.
Observational Studies: Follow the STROBE Statement
Observational studies include descriptive studies, cohort studies, case-control and case-series studies, and cross-sectional studies. For such studies, authors should follow the STROBE Guideline (STregthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology), which can be found on the Equator Network website at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/strobe/.
Genetic Association Studies
These studies attempt "to identify and characterize genomic variants that may be associated with susceptibility to multifactorial disease." JAMA Network Editors. AMA Manual of Style, 11th ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2020: 6-11. STREGA Guidelines are an extension of the STROBE Guidelines.
Case Reports: Follow the CARE Case Report Guidelines
EID often publishes case reports, narratives that describe medical problems experienced by one or more patients. EID strongly encourages authors to follow the CARE Case Report Guidelines.
Surveys: Follow the AAPOR Guidelines
EID often publishes surveys, in which a universe of subjects is sampled to be representative of the whole. In reporting these studies, EID strongly encourages authors to follow the Guidelines of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). See also Pitt SC, Schwartz TA, Chu D. AAPOR Reporting Guidelines for Survey Studies. JAMA Surg. 2021;156(8):785–786. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2021.0543.
Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses: Follow the PRISMA 2020 Statement or the MOOSE Guidelines
In reporting these studies, EID strongly encourages authors to follow the PRISMA 2020 statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), or the MOOSE (Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) Reporting Guidelines. See also Page M J, McKenzie J E, Bossuyt P M, Boutron I, Hoffmann T C, Mulrow C D et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 2021;372:n71. doi:10.1136/bmj.n71.
Health Economic Evaluations: Follow the CHEERS 2022 Statement
In reporting these studies, include cost-effectives, cost-benefit, and cost-minimization studies. EID strongly encourages authors to follow the CHEERS 2022 (Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards) Statement.
Clinical Research Studies Using Structured Electronic Healthcare Records: Follow the CODE-EHR Framework
In reporting studies using electronic healthcare records, EID recommends that authors follow the CODE-EHR Framework.
Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy: Follow the STARD Guidelines
In reporting studies of diagnostic accuracy, EID recommends that authors follow the updated list of essential items for STARD 2015 (Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy Studies) Guidelines.
5.2 Reporting of Statistics
The reporting of statistics in EID is based on the guiding principle that EID's knowledgeable public health audience should be able understand the methods and results of published articles, and could, if given access to the original data, verify the reported results. Some of the reporting guidelines mentioned above give advice about the presentation of statistics for particular types of studies. Consulting EIDs Author Instructions will assist in determining how to present certain statistics in the journal more generally, and to ensure statistical integrity. Then, if needed, consult the EID Writing Guides. If you still cannot determine the correct statistical presentation, consult the AMA Manual of Style and the SAMPL Guidelines (Statistical Analyses and Methods in the Published Literature), a reporting guideline for statistical information.
EID's Writing Guides cover certain preferences for the presentation of statistics in the journal. The AMA Manual of Style provides extensive guidance for the presentation of statistics, such as detailed recommendations on statistical presentations for sections of the manuscript (Section 19.1); discussions of significant digits and rounding of numbers (Sections 4.1.8 and 19.4); and an extensive Glossary of Statistical Terms (Section 19.5).
The SAMPL Guidelines cover additional general statistical issues and complement the EID Writing Guides and the AMA Manual of Style. The SAMPL Guidelines are limited to the most common kinds of statistical issues, such as identifying variables, adjustments for multiple comparisons, outliers, alpha levels, measures of dispersion, precision, and association, confounding, hypothesis testing, regression analyses, survival analyses, and Bayesian analyses. One of the authors of the SAMPL Guidelines, Thomas A. Lang, has published a useful treatise on reporting statistics in medicine. See Lang TA, Secic M. How to Report Statistics in Medicine, 2nd ed. Philadelphia: American College of Physicians; 2006.
When you must present statistical methods and results that may go beyond the understanding of EID's public health audience, you should explain the method used or refer readers to published references.
p values and Other Issues
Authors often have difficulty with the expression of p values. You should take care to avoid the “p value fallacy” and follow the conventions for p values listed in the AMA Manual of Style, Sections 4.1.8, 19.1, and 19.5. You should be aware that, according to the AMA Manual, “It is always preferable for results to be presented in terms of point estimates and confidence intervals, which convey more information than do p values alone.” In most cases, p values should not be presented in the absence of a measure of effect.
EID follows the following guidance on the use of p values used by the JAMA Network:
- When possible, present numeric results (e.g., absolute numbers and/or rates) with appropriate indicators of uncertainty, such as confidence intervals.
- Use means and standard deviations (SDs) for normally distributed data and medians and ranges or interquartile ranges (IQRs) for data that are not normally distributed.
- Avoid solely reporting the results of statistical hypothesis testing, such as p values, which fail to convey important quantitative information.
- Standalone statements about statistical significance (such as p<0.05) are unlikely to be allowed. Such statements do not allow for conclusions that there is “no effect,” “no difference” in outcomes, or “no association” between an exposure or characteristic and an outcome.
- When p values are noted, they should follow directly after comparisons of absolute numbers or rates and measures of uncertainty (e.g., 0.8%, 95% CI −0.2% to 1.8%; p = 0.13). p values should never be presented alone ("naked p values") without also presenting the data that are being compared and usually a measure of effect (e.g., a risk ratio, odds ratio, or prevalence ratio).
- If p values are reported, follow standard conventions for decimal places: for p values less than 0.001, report as "p<0.001"; for p values from 0.001 to 0.01, report the value to the nearest thousandth; for p values greater than or equal to 0.01, report the value to the nearest hundredth; and for p values greater than 0.99, report as "p>0.99." For studies with exponentially small p values (e.g., genetic association studies), p values may be reported with exponents (e.g., p= 1 × 10−5). In general, there is no need to present the values of test statistics (e.g., F statistics or χ² results) and degrees of freedom when reporting results.
Some Key Points on Statistical and Methods Presentation
- EID reserves the word "significant" to refer to statistical significance, with exceptions for the term “clinical significance.”
- For research manuscripts, at the end of the Introduction, you should clearly state your research question or hypothesis. You should avoid language that connotes a statistical "fishing expedition," such as "we explored associations…."
- For most analytical studies, the presentation of simple descriptive results and measures of association (e.g., prevalence ratios) should precede the presentation of statistical results intended to control for confounding.
- EID readers typically are more interested in the practical relative risks, attack rates, etc., of disease than they are in odds ratios, which may overstate the relative risk of disease if the disease is not rare.
- If you employ multiple hypothesis tests, you should mention in the Methods section whether an adjustment was used (e.g., Bonferroni adjustment), and which one.
- You should be careful not to use causal language in cross-sectional studies or in other settings where it cannot be justified and you should explain any assumptions used in drawing causal conclusions.
- In multivariable analyses, you should specify the logic of including the chosen confounding variables.
- When appropriate, you should state how you dealt with missing data.
- Percentages and proportions should be accompanied by numerators and denominators.
- In manuscripts that do not allow enough wordcount to fulfill the journal's expectations for explanation of methods or statistical analyses, you should submit an appendix that allows a full explanation. EID allows appendices for all article types.
5.3 Special Guidance for Mathematical, Economic, and Statistical Manuscripts
Mathematical equations generally should not appear in the main text or in figures and tables associated with the main text. Instead, they should be placed in an appendix and kept to a minimum. To maximize understanding by the intended audience, authors should avoid using economic, mathematical, and statistical jargon. For mathematical, economic, and statistical modeling articles, where possible, authors should include in the appendix a simplified schematic diagram outlining the elements in the model(s) and how they are connected. Models should contain detailed sensitivity analyses. Univariate (i.e., 1 variable at a time) sensitivity analyses are generally considered inadequate. One goal of sensitivity analyses should be to define which inputs are relatively most important within the model.
Modeling manuscripts should contain a Table 1 that lists all the inputs, the values and ranges, and identifies data sources. For statistical models, a table of results should provide the results of all the variables used in the model, the statistical significance of each variable, and a measure of goodness-of-fit of the entire model.
5.4 Claims of Primacy
EID readers place very low value on claims of primacy ("This is the first case of ...," "To our knowledge, this is the first study to…," etc.") The journal does not publish claims of primacy and routinely deletes such claims during peer review or copyediting. Avoid including any such claims in your manuscript.
6.0 Submitting a Manuscript
EID uses careful editorial and peer review to evaluate manuscripts for originality, importance to the literature, scientific validity, and quality of expression. Your steps in submitting a manuscript to EID include:
1. Determining whether EID is the right journal for your manuscript by browsing similar articles in the journal and reviewing EID's editorial policies and article types,
2. Preparing your manuscript for submission, including the required cover letter and the parts of a manuscript appropriate to your chosen article type (e.g., for a Research article, abstract, main text, tables, figures, and appendices),
3. Submitting your manuscript using EID’s ScholarOne Submission Portal , including the required EID Author Checklist and ORCiD numbers for, at a minimum, the first and corresponding authors. EID prefers ORCiD numbers for all other authors when possible.
All manuscripts, including both original submissions and revisions (resubmissions), must be submitted using EID’s ScholarOne Submission Site. EID does not accept manuscripts submitted through postal delivery or email.
To submit a manuscript, the submitting author must log in to his or her existing account using EID’s ScholarOne Submission Site or, for new submitters, create a new account. You should ensure that your submitted manuscript meets all requirements of the journal, including the requirements of the kind of manuscript that you are submitting (e.g., Research, Dispatch), and especially wordcount limits. After you have submitted your manuscript, you will receive an acknowledgement from ScholarOne and a manuscript number that you will use in all correspondence related to your submission.
Cover Letter
As part of your submission, you must include a cover letter that indicates the proposed manuscript type and verifies that all authors have seen and approved the final manuscript.
EID Author Checklist
EID also requires completion of the EID Author Checklist as part of every original or revised manuscript submission. This checklist serves as a recorded confirmation that essential requirements have been met and agreed to by the authors. The checklist consists of Proprietary Considerations, Authorship and Acknowledgments, and Consent for Editing sections that must be addressed for manuscript submission.
Submissions received without the required, completed EID Author Checklist will be returned to authors, delaying the initiation of peer review.
ORCiD Number
EID supports the goal of the not-for-profit organization ORCiD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) to "create a permanent, clear, and unambiguous record of research and scholarly communication by enabling reliable attribution of authors first and corresponding authors (which may be the same person) have an ORCiD number and enter it in ScholarOne as part of the submission process. Note that EID prefers that ORCiD numbers be entered for all other authors.
EID encourages all authors to register for an ORCiD number. There is also a link provided on the EID’s ScholarOne Submission Site.
When the journal requests a resubmission, the resubmitted WORD manuscript must include 1) a Track Changes version showing all insertions and deletions from the previously submitted version and 2) a “clean” version in which all changes have been accepted.
Use Microsoft Word, 12-point Times New Roman (or similar font); double-spaced and left justified. Use continuous line numbering. Each manuscript should contain each of the following elements, in the following order.
Title Page
Give complete information about each author (i.e., full name, graduate degree(s), affiliation, and the name of the institution in which the work was done. Clearly identify the corresponding author and provide that author’s mailing address (include phone number, fax number, and email address). Include separate word counts for abstract and text.
The following are examples of footnotes that should be included, when necessary, at the beginning of an article (linked to author[s] name[s]):
1These authors contributed equally to this article.
1These first authors contributed equally to this article.
1These senior authors contributed equally to this article.
1These authors were co-principal investigators.
1Current affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
1Members of the team/group are listed at the end of this article/in the Appendix [URL].
1Preliminary results from this study were presented at the XXX conference; July 17–20, 2012, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Note: EID does not use footnotes to designate deceased authors. Such information should be included in the acknowledgments.
Running Title
This running title will appear on the top of each right-hand page in the PDF version of the article and along top of the online browser window. The running title should be no more than 50 characters long, including spaces. Some common abbreviations (E. coli) and acronyms (MRSA, MDR TB, XDR TB) are allowed in running titles, but less familiar terms should be written out within the character limit.
Keywords
These keywords will be used for indexing and will not be visible to readers. Include appropriate keywords (no limit to the number). Use terms listed in the National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings index. Do not use boldface or italics in keywords.
Title
EID uses the criteria of the AMA Manual of Style for titles (Section 2.1) but EID does not use subtitles or colons in titles or titles that are questions. Thus, titles should be "concise, specific, and informative, and should contain the key points of the work." EID does not publish titles that are complete sentences. With a few exceptions, abbreviations, initialisms, and acronyms must be written out in full in titles, but numbers may be written as digits rather than spelled out. Titles of studies describing phenomena in populations usually should state the "where" and "when" of the observed phenomena. For example, instead of a title of "Hantavirus Infections among Children," the title should say more specifically, "Hantavirus Infection among Children in California, 1999-2021."
Authors
For each author give full name, affiliation, and name of the institution where the work was done. Provide at least the first and last names of each author. Middle names or initials and academic degrees are optional for the manuscript, although academic degrees will not appear in the published article. Use periods, but no spaces, between initials indicating academic degrees. See EID’s requirements for ORCiD here.
Use the following format:
Dana C. Crawford, Shanta M. Zimmer, Craig A. Morin, Nancy E. Messonnier, Ruth Lynfield, Qian Yi, Cynthia Shephard, Michelle Wong, Mark J. Rieder, Robert J. Livingston, Deborah A. Nickerson, Cynthia G. Whitney, Jairam Lingappa
If 2 or more authors contributed equally to an article, this contribution may be acknowledged with a footnote that states “These authors contributed equally to this article.” However, a biographical sketch will be included for only the first author (unless the article has only 2 authors).
Affiliations
Authors may list multiple affiliations, but provide only the overall institutional affiliation for each, not departments or other subunits. For university affiliations, schools (e.g., medical schools), institutes, and other large subunits may be included but should be listed after the name of the primary affiliation. Identify city, state, or province (for USA, Canada, Australia only), and country.
Incorrect: National Immunization Program, Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Correct: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Incorrect: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, , University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Correct: University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Author’s full initials and last name will appear after their respective institutions.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (J. Doe, A.-E. Smith); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA (J. Doe, B. Jones)
Use heading of “Author affiliations:” (>1 affiliation) or “Author affiliation” (1 only). No possessive (i.e., not Authors’).
Drop redundant material after first mention unless something changes after city.
Author affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Emory University, Atlanta
Author affiliations: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; EviMed Research Group, LLC, Goshen, Massachusetts, USA
Author affiliations: Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; The Consortium for Conservation Medicine, New York; University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA; New York State Department of Health, Slingerlands, New York, USA
Author affiliations: Queensland Health, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; University of Queensland, Brisbane; Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand; OzFoodNet, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; OzFoodNet, Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia; and Australian National University, Canberra
When all authors have 2 affiliations, and those affiliations are the same it is acceptable to format as:
Author affiliations: Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Emory University, Atlanta.
For universities with multiple campuses, write campus (city) location as city, so it appears only once.
Incorrect: University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
Correct: University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Names of institutions (including geographic designations that are part of the name) need not be translated into English. However, the city, state or province, and country listed in the affiliation should be given as the common English preferred designation in the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.
Incorrect: Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italia
Correct: Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy
Institut Pasteur (Pasteur Institute in English) should list the city separately in most instances, not as part of the name.
Incorrect: Institut Pasteur de Morocco, Casablanca, Morocco
Correct: Institut Pasteur, Casablanca, Morocco
Countries: Abbreviate USA and UK within affiliations in all cases. Include the state, territory, or province only for the USA, Canada, and Australia. Do not list the country for cities in England (only UK); do specify Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland for cities in these countries.
List China simply as "China." For Taiwan, it is up to the author’s discretion whether or not to use “Republic of China.”
On second mention within affiliations, abbreviate DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
List Hong Kong as Hong Kong, China, at first mention, then just Hong Kong at subsequent mention. Special Administrative Region is not the preferred usage, according to Getty.
Mention Singapore (city/country) only once (e.g., do not list Singapore, Singapore).
According to Australia’s postal conventions, the suburb, not the city, is used in an address.
Organizations in author list: If the author list on an article includes an organization and a membership list is given, follow this process:
1. Insert a superscript footnote number after the organization name.
2. Insert a footnote after the affiliations in this format: “Additional members of [group name] who contributed data are listed at the end of this article.” If no members are listed separately as authors, delete “additional”; “who contributed data” can also be deleted if appropriate, such as when all group members are listed.
3. Place the member list directly after the text of the article, formatted using the Author Teams style. If there is an Acknowledgments header, then this paragraph should go before the header (not under it).
4. Use the same wording as the footnote as an introduction before the list: “Additional members of [group name] who contributed data:”
5. If locations are given, list name first, then location in parentheses. That is, “S.N. O’Connor (United States),” not “United States: S.N. O’Connor.”
Abstract
An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the article; it allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly, and like a title, it enables abstracting and information services to index and retrieve articles. An abstract should briefly summarize the research question and any relevant background information, methods, results, and conclusions. Avoid vague or promising phrases such as “…implications of these findings are discussed;” instead, state public health implications of the results.
See EID’s Quick Guide to Article Types for requirements concerning abstracts. Authors may submit an abstract in their native language as well as in English. Comment letters, book reviews, cover essays, and photo quizzes do not have abstracts.
Visual Abstracts/Summaries
Visual abstracts summarize key findings and emphasizes key points and recommendations from an article. Visual abstracts help generate reader interest and attract attention, especially on social media platforms.
Creating a visual abstract for your EID manuscript
During the peer review process, EID’s Editor in Chief or Deputy Editor in Chief may invite some authors to create and submit a visual abstract for consideration along with their manuscript. The corresponding author will receive an email invitation to work with the EID team to make stylistic edits and approve a final version of the visual abstract to accompany the article and to be used for social media postings. The corresponding author will serve as the single point of contact and will be responsible for collecting and combining comments from coauthors.
Note: The manuscript and visual abstract are reviewed independently, so a visual abstract might be rejected even though the accompanying manuscript is accepted for publication.
EID Guidelines for Developing Visual Abstracts
- Identify 1–3 key points or outcomes in the manuscript. Having clear public health implications or recommendations is important.
- Build a slide with one panel for each key point using EID’s template for visual abstracts below. You may have 1–3 panels in a slide.
- Enter the title, first author name, and key points into the template.
- Describe the key points in 25–50 words.
- Add visuals to convey each point. Be sure to use only images and graphics that are original or are within the public domain. Copyrighted images will not be accepted.
- EID prefers not to publish figures, graphs, or images created by using artificial intelligence.
- Save your slide in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint and submit it as a supplementary file along with all other manuscript documents at EID’s ScholarOne submission portal.
Keep formatting simple. Use 12-point Times New Roman, Calibri, or other common serif font with ragged right margins (left justified). Double space everything, including the title page, abstract, references, tables, and figure legends. Indent paragraphs; leave no extra space between paragraphs. After a period, leave only 1 space before beginning the next sentence. Italicize (rather than underline) scientific names when needed.
Acknowledgments
Use full names only, not titles (e.g., Doctor, Professor) or affiliations. Acknowledgments for materials supplied belong as a parenthetical citation in the text where materials are mentioned.
Biographical Sketch
For all article types—excluding comment letters, book/media reviews, cover essays, and Etymologias—include a short (2–3 sentences) biographical sketch of only the first author or of both authors if only 2 authors. Include current position and affiliations (city but not state and country if same as in author affiliation list).
Address for Correspondence
Clearly identify the corresponding author and provide that author’s mailing address, including phone number, fax number, and email address. The phone and fax number will not appear in the journal. Only 1 author may be designated as corresponding, and only 1 address may be published for that author (i.e., corresponding author may not list 2 email addresses).
Follow the conventions used in individual countries for capitalizing or not capitalizing street names. Capitalize CEDEX in French addressed. Examples:
Example: In France: 28 rue du Docteur Roux
Example: In France: 20 rue Leblanc, 7508 Paris CEDEX 15, France
Example: In the United States: Main St
Example: In the United States: 1600 Clifton Rd NE
Use capital letters for the first word of agency names, except for prepositions (e.g., of, with, in); articles (e.g., a, an, the [unless "The" is part of the agency name]); and conjunctions (e.g., and).
Use the US form of country names.
Example: Mexico, not México
Example: Peru, not Péru
Example: Brazil, not Brasil
For CDC addresses, list CDC only (spelled out), not CIOs; provide mailstop; include NE after Clifton Road; use 30329-4027 for ZIP code.
Example: John Doe, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd NE, Mailstop X55, Atlanta, GA 30329-4027, USA
Appendices
Authors may submit an Appendix, which will be included with the article. Appendixes may include additional text, references, tables, figures, and other materials. Appendixes will be formatted but not edited by EID; these materials are not included in the manuscript maximum word and reference counts.
EID will not be responsible for ensuring Section 508 (accessibility) compliance of appendix materials. Authors should take steps to ensure their supplemental content is Section 508 compliant.
Links to Appendix materials will be provided in the text of the article where the materials are cited. Appendixes that are survey instruments or questionnaires written in a language other than English may be published in the original language.
6.2 References
The AMA Manual of Style provides a good overview of the importance of references:
References serve 3 primary purposes—documentation, acknowledgment, and directing or linking the reader to additional resources. Authors may cite a reference to support their own arguments or lay the foundation for their theses (documentation), to credit the work of other authors (acknowledgment), or to direct the reader to more detail or additional resources (directing or linking).
References are a critical element of a scientific manuscript, and, as such, the reference list demands scrutiny by authors, editors, peer reviewers, manuscript editors, and proofreaders. Authors bear primary responsibility for all reference citations. AMA Manual of Style, Section 3.0.
Reference information for authors can be divided into two parts, policy and style. For citation policy, EID follows the ICMJE Recommendations, Section IV.A.3.g.i. Some key points are
- Provide direct references to original sources whenever possible.
- Do not cite articles in predatory or pseudo-journals, or to promote self-interests.
- Be cautious about citing to review articles. They do not always reflect original work accurately. It may be better to cite to original papers.
- Verify the accuracy of all references using an electronic bibliographic source, such as PubMed or print copies from original sources. Identify retracted articles.
For the style of references, EID maintains some house style rules but otherwise follows the citation format of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Style Guide, Patrias K. Citing medicine: the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers [Internet]. 2nd ed. Wendling DL, technical editor. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2007 - [updated 2015 Oct 2](Citing Medicine). An abbreviated form of the book, Samples of Formatted References for Authors of Journal Articles is also available.
These Author Instructions cover citation rules specific to EID, plus some of the most used recommendations from Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. When choosing reference formats, you should consult these instructions first. When these instructions are silent on a citation style point, use the style recommended in Citing Medicine.
Key Instructions
- Do not use endnotes for references.
- Place reference numbers in parentheses (do not use superscript style) and italicize the numbers.
- Number citations in order of appearance, including references in figures and tables. If a reference is used in a figure key or label or in a figure legend, it should be numbered in order with any reference numbers that have preceded the first figure citation in text. For example, if references 1–10 have been cited in text, and the figure contains a previously uncited reference, that reference should be numbered as 11, and subsequent text reference citations renumbered accordingly.
Journal Abbreviations
Consult the NLM's List of Serials Indexed for Online Users for accepted journal abbreviations. If a journal is not listed, spell out the journal title in full.
Authors
List the first 6 authors followed by “et al.” For persons with suffixes after their names such as "Jr" or "III," include the suffix (with no punctuation) after the first initial: “von Hoffman J Jr” or “Snowden CM III.” When there are >6 individual authors and a working group, list the first 6 authors, followed by et al., then the working group.
Example: Doe J, Smith AE, Jones JJ, Lane R, Carter JE, James B, et al.; The XYZ Working Group.
For organizations as author, spell out the full name of the organization (World Health Organization, not WHO) or just give the title with no author. Never use “Anonymous” or "No author given." For further information on author citation, see Citing Medicine, Chapter 1 Journals.
Personal Communications and Unpublished Data
Cite personal communications and unpublished data (including manuscripts in preparation or submitted for publication but not yet accepted) in parentheses in text. Personal communications should include the date and type of communication (e.g., email). Preprint articles should be cited as unpublished data and the full DOI or direct URL provided:
Example: (D. E. Berg, pers. comm., email, 2023 Jan 31)
Example: (D. Stantio, unpub. data)
Example: (D. Stantio, unpub. data, https://doi.org/10.1111/preprint.X)
Articles in press (accepted for publication but not yet published) should include publication name and current year (no comma).
Example: Authors. Article name. Publication name. Forthcoming 2008.
For further information on citing personal communication and unpublished data, see Citing Medicine, Chapter 13 Letters and Other Personal Communication.
Place of Publication
For place of publication, enter US states or country names in parentheses.
Example: Adelaide (Australia): Adelaide University
Example: Ames (IA): Iowa University Press
For further information on citing the place of publication see AMA Manual of Style Chapter 3.0 on references, specifically Section 3.12 Books and Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers.
Conference Abstracts
Conference abstracts may be cited in the references. If the abstract has only a number, cite the name of the program and abstracts booklet. For further information see Citing Medicine, Chapter 3 Conference Publication.
Example: Galil K, Singleton R, Levine O, Fitzgerald M, Ajello G, Bulkow L, et al. High prevalence of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) carriage among Alaska Natives despite widespread use of Hib-conjugate vaccine. In: Abstracts of the 35th Infectious Diseases Society of America; San Francisco; 1997 Sep 13–16. Abstract 421. Alexandria (VA): Infectious Diseases Society of America; 1997.
Dissertations and theses may be used as references. International variations in terminology occur; the primary distinction is whether the work is published. For further information see Citing Medicine, Chapter 5 Dissertations and Theses.
Example: Walter JE. Genetic characterization of astroviruses associated with diarrhea among children in a periurban community of Mexico City, 2002 [doctoral dissertation]. Pecs (Hungary): Medical School, University of Pecs.
Example: Roguskie JM. The role of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 1244 pilin glycan in virulence [master's thesis]. [Pittsburgh (PA)]: Duquesne University; 2005. 111 p.
For citations to electronic sources, if a URL is provided, do not write “Available from.” The URL alone is sufficient. Do not give a URL for cited articles that already display a Medline link. Include the date cited for each URL listed in references. Use the URL for the specific page where information can be found, not to the main page of the website.
Example: Ben Amor Y, Nemser B, Sing A, Sankin A, Schluger N. Underreported threat of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Africa. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Sep [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/14/9/1345.htm
Example: World Health Organization. Outbreak encephalitis 2005: cases of Japanese encephalitis in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. 2005 Oct 21 [cited 2006 Jul 11]. http://w3.whosea.org/en/Section1226/Section2073.asp
Example: Entomological Society of Washington. Obituary and bibliography of Dr. George Marx. Proc Entomol Soc Wash. 1894;3:195−201 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2360491 External Link cited 2022 Dec 1.
If a citation references an e-published ahead of print article, do not update the reference for the date of print publication. The reference needs to reflect the source used at the time the reference was cited.
For further information see Citing Medicine, Chapters 22−26 Citing Material on the Internet (Online).
Avoid citing Wikipedia articles, but when necessary, Wikipedia information should be cited in text (see https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/....), not as a numbered reference.
ProMed
Example: Lipkin I. West Nile–like virus: PCR primers and protocols. ProMed. 1999 Oct 13 [cited 1999 Oct 21]. http://www.promedmail.org, archive no. 19991013.1826.
References published in a foreign language but translated into English should indicate the original language in brackets, after the article title.
Example: Pablos-Mendez A, Lessnau K. Clinical mismanagement and other factors producing antituberculosis drug resistance [in Dutch]. Journal name. 2000:159−76.
References that appear in a foreign language should be translated into English, if possible.
With some exceptions, EID follows the AMA Manual for the creation of tables. When writing tables for publication in EID, you should first consult these Author Instructions. When these Instructions are silent on a style point, consult the AMA Manual. Browse EID articles to see how tables like yours are formatted or view examples here.
A key concept in designing tables is that the table should be able to stand on its own, without requiring undue reference to the text. This means that a reader who encounters a table alone, without the accompanying paper, should be able to understand the point of the table and the story it is telling in data.
Other key concepts in designing tables (excerpted from the AMA Manual, Section 4.1) are
- For a table to have maximum effectiveness, the information it contains must be arranged logically and clearly so that the reader can quickly understand the key point and find the specific data and comparisons of interest.
- Because the English language is read first horizontally (from left to right) and then vertically (from top to bottom), the primary comparisons should be shown horizontally across the table. Data that depict cause-and-effect correlations, before-and-after relationships, or trends (e.g., change over time) should be arranged from left to right if space allows or, alternatively, from top to bottom.
- Although tables frequently are used to present many quantitative values, authors should remember that tabulating all collected study data is unnecessary and actually may distract and overwhelm the reader. Data presented in a table should be pertinent and meaningful.
Key Instructions
- Tables submitted to EID must be created using the Microsoft Word table tool, not by using tabs and spaces or in Microsoft Excel. Do not use any other program or tabs or spaces to align columns. Create a separate row for each line of data.
- Include all tables at the end of the manuscript. Do not embed in the text.
- Number tables consecutively in the text; if an article has only 1 table, do not number it.
- Do not split tables into subdivisions (Table 1A and Table 1B); instead, use 2 separate tables.
- Order references in tables starting with the placement of the first citation of the table in text.
- Set tables in 8-point Arial font and no wider than 17 cm. Tables that exceed maximum width should be truncated or included for online publication only.
- Tables should be arranged with like data (e.g., organism name, antibody titer) in columns.
- If a table cell contains text, only the first word should begin with a capital letter.
- Horizontal rules are used to set off column heads. If necessary for readability, horizontal rules may also be used to group categories of information within the body of the table. Vertical rules are never used.
- Tables that are wider than 17 cm when formatted will not appear in the article’s PDF layout. They may be linked to the online version of the article or placed into an Appendix that will accompany the article online.
- When presenting the results of multivariable analyses, show the unadjusted and adjusted results. Use risk ratios or prevalence ratios as needed.
- Present frequency data as "No. (%)." Proportions and percentages should be accompanied by numerators and denominators.
- Do not duplicate data in tables and figures. Do not represent outcomes solely graphically in a figure. Instead, report them exactly in text or table, accompanied by a measure of precision.
Titles
- Place the title above the table, not below it.
- Capitalize the first letter of the title and do not include a period at the end.
- Include a brief description of the study (e.g., “in study of…” not just “in this study”).
- Do not repeat information in the column or row headings.
- Avoid using abbreviations in titles, but when necessary to do so, explain abbreviation in a footnote, not in the title.
Headings
Use abbreviations as needed for space (see below). Capitalize only the first word of each column header. Capitalize the first word after a symbol.
Abbreviations in Tables
- Spell out terms even if they have been introduced in the text.
- Terms may be abbreviated within the table and defined in a footnote; all abbreviated terms should be defined in the first footnote.
- Any use of boldface, underlining, or shading used in a table should be defined in the first footnote.
- M and F do not need to be defined when used to mean male and female, although EID does use “male sex” or “female sex” in tables.
- Use no. patients, not number of patients, to save space in tables.
- Do not use virgules, e.g., NA, ND, not N/A, N/D.
Footnotes
- Use the following symbols in the order shown to indicate footnotes: *, †, ‡, §, ¶, #.
- If the table requires >6 footnotes, use double (e.g., **, ††) symbols. No space is used between a footnote symbol and the footnote. Place a period at the end of each footnote.
Units of Measure
Units should not be repeated in every cell but should be noted once in the column head. Use SI units or other common units of measure.
Example: Weight during treatment, kg
6.4 Figures
For figures, EID follows only its own house style; view examples here. Even so, you may find useful guidance about figures in Section 4.2 of the AMA Manual of Style.
Figures should be submitted to EID for review as high-resolution—a minimum of 300 dots per inch—for all figures and need to be at least 5” wide. EID requests image files in these format: .tif, .jpg, .pdf, and .eps files.
Note that EID prefers not to publish figures, graphs, or images created by using artificial intelligence.
File Types and Names
Send editable files (i.e., .xls, .xlst, .xlsm, .xlsx, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .doc, .docx, .ai, .eps, .psd) in native format.
Contact the journal at EIDeditior.com if you have questions about file types and formats.
Do not embed images within files created by programs such as Word, PowerPoint, or Excel; submit the actual image file or native file in which the figure was created. Whenever possible, submit an editable file type. If the software that was used to create the image file does not have an option to export an editable file type, submit the image as a 300 dpi resolution .jpg or .tif file.
When naming figure files, indicate the figure number and panel letter.
Examples: Figure 1.xlsx, Figure 1A.pptx, Figure 2C.jpg
When submitting figures as part of a revised manuscript, include the manuscript number when naming the figure file.
Examples: 12-0355 Figure 1.xlsx, 09-0875 Figure 2C.pptx
When submitting a revised figure, add “rev” to the figure file name to distinguish it from previously submitted figure files.
Example: 12-355 Figure 1 rev.xlsx
Color Figures
Colors may be used in figures (e.g., for bar or line charts) in the preferred following order: red, blue, green, gold, purple, orange, brown, dark pink. Avoid light or pastel colors.
Graphs and line art should be set in black and white to produce a better contrast and to present the information more clearly. For figures with vertical columns, use black, white, and gray columns. Use shades of gray if needed. Avoid the use of patterns. If you have too many columns, consider using a different type of chart or graph.
Key Instructions
- A key concept in designing figures is that, like tables, a figure should be able to stand on its own, without requiring undue reference to the text. This concept means that a reader who encounters a figure
—without the accompanying paper—should be able to understand the point of the figure and the story it is telling in graphics. - Submit figures as separate files and do not embed them in a Word document. If the figure is made up of multiple images or panels, submit each panel separately. A panel may contain only 1 image. Panels should be directly related to each other and generally of the same type. Avoid grouping panels that contain macro and micro images or that are not directly related, such as an image from pulsed-field gel electrophoresis paired with a phylogenetic tree panel.
- Place all figure legends in your manuscript after the tables.
- Number figures consecutively in the text; if an article has only 1 figure, do not number it. Order references according to the first citation of the figure in text.
- EID uses only legends for figures (also called captions). The journal does not also use titles for figures.
- Eliminate unnecessary white space around the image. The final image files must be a minimum of 8.4 cm wide. To check the resolution and size on a PC, locate the image on your computer, right click on it to bring up a sub-menu. Select Properties and then the Summary tab. The vertical and horizontal resolution and image dimensions will be displayed. Large figures (i.e., those that must exceed a 17.02 cm by 17.02 cm width) to be readable will appear online only.
Figure Legends
Figure legends are written in sentence format and are placed below the figure. Legends should allow the figure to be understandable on its own, without undue reference to the text.
- Include the legend in the manuscript after references and tables.
- Place a minimum of text in the figure and use the legend for more lengthy explanations.
- The first sentence of the legend should give a general description of the figure’s contents and a brief description of the study (e.g., “in study of…” not “in this study”).
- Spell out terms even if they have been introduced in the text. Terms may be abbreviated in the figure if they are defined at the end of the legend.
- Provide magnification levels or indicate scale bar information within the legend.
- If a reference is used in a figure key, label, or legend, it should be numbered in order with any reference numbers that have preceded the first figure citation in text. For example, if references 1–10 have been cited in text, and the figure contains a previously uncited reference, that reference should be numbered as 11 (and subsequent text reference citations renumbered accordingly).
Text in Figures
- Place figure keys within the figure (see Figure Keys section below) or within figure legends at the end of the manuscript file.
- Use Arial (or an equivalent sans serif font, such as Calibri) 10 point or 12 point font. Symbols, lettering, and numbering should remain legible when reduced to minimum print size.
- Italicize genus and species names.
- Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of an axis title, label, or key entry, and omit unnecessary words (e.g., use % Patients, not “Percent of patients,” “No. patients”, not “Number of patients”).
- Horizontally align all text except primary labels on vertical axes.
- Include descriptive axes labels that clearly convey what is being shown so that the figure can be understood if it were presented without the manuscript text.
- Text should not have drop shadow or shadow effects applied to it.
Figure Keys
Figure keys provide additional information to help readers interpret the information in a figure. For example, keys can define the color codes that indicate certain number ranges. If you can interpret the figure readily without the key, then you should make the key information part of the figure legend to keep the figure as simple as possible. Simpler figures are preferred to complex figures.
Types of Figures
Photographs
Photographic images include those captured with a camera (e.g., radiographs, micrographs, x-rays, magnetic resonance and computer tomographic scan images, and gel images). Such images generally do not contain labels. They should be submitted as high resolution (300 dpi−600 dpi) .jpg or .tif files. If appropriate, the image should contain a scale bar in the lower right corner that is part of the image and not a separate layer. The unit of measurement for the scale bar should be included in the figure legend. If the image is magnified to show detail, please include the magnification level within the figure legend. Use credits as needed. If the figure needs to include text labels, the labels should be in 10- or 12-point Arial (or an equivalent sans serif font). Refrain from adding labels (e.g., A, B, C) to individual panels; instead, make the panel label part of the figure file name.
Computer-generated Figures
Computer-generated figures include graphs, charts, and flow diagrams and are typically generated in computer programs such as Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. Whenever possible, submit computer-generated figures in the editable native format that was used to create the figure. Do not embed an Excel file into Word or PowerPoint; instead, send the Excel file.
EID rarely publishes 3-dimensional figures or pie charts.
Excel Charts and Graphs
When submitting figures generated in Excel, include the linked data within the workbook. If you submit the generated chart without the data, edits cannot be made. We do not publish the actual Excel file, just the final edited chart or graph generated with Excel. If you have several graphs or charts created in Excel, submit them in the same workbook with each figure’s data and chart on a separately named worksheet.
Omit unnecessary boxes, borders, and horizontal lines in plot areas for graphs. Text along the x- and y- axes should be oriented horizontally, except for the y-axis label, which should be rotated parallel to the y-axis and read left to right from the bottom to the top of the axis. Additional y-axis labels should be rotated to continue in a clockwise rotation; that is, for a chart with a right y-axis, the text label should read left to right from top to bottom. Labels should be as concise as possible; abbreviate days to “d”, week(s) to “wk,” month(s) to “mo," years to “y.”
A chart may not overflow one page when printed. You may need to shrink the font, use landscape orientation on wide charts, or simplify the data display (e.g., 3 letter month, year only) for a long listing of dates. Do not use vertical text in a figure.
EID rarely publishes 3-dimensional figures or pie charts.
Maps
For large maps with an inset, split the figure into two panels and submit each panel as a separate file. Maps should have country or region labels, country boundaries, and a symbol indicating north. Topographic maps should not be submitted unless relevant to the study. Map text should not be bolded, outlined with a contrasting color, or italicized.
Phylogenetic Trees (Dendrograms)
Phylogenetic trees or dendrograms should be in regular text. Use boldface font to indicate isolates obtained in the study. Genus and species names should be in italics. Include a scale bar and define the scale bar in the figure legend.
Spanning Trees
To have color figures, submit color versions of figures. Spanning trees should be submitted in black, white, and shades of gray if necessary.
6.5 Videos
Submit as AVI, MOV, MPG, MPEG, or WMV. Videos should not exceed 5 minutes in length and should include an audio description and complete captioning. If audio is not available, describe the action in the video as a separate Word file. Use of published or copyrighted material (e.g., music) is discouraged and must be accompanied by written release. If video is part of a manuscript, files must be uploaded with the manuscript submission. When uploading, choose “Video” file. Include a brief video legend in the manuscript file. Place the legend after references, tables, and figure legends. Spell out terms used in the video even if they have been introduced in the text.
Contact the journal staff at eideditor@cdc.gov.
