About the Journal

Focus, Scope and Objectives

Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine (IDHM) is an international, Open Access, peer-reviewed, authoritative journal providing basic and applied research. The Journal publishes original research reports, editorials, letters to the editor, rapid communications, case studies and reviews articles focusing on all aspects of infectious disease and herbal medicine including geographic, seasonal, and other risk factors that influence the transmission, diagnosis, pathogenesis, treatment, management, and prevention of infectious diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi, and identifies global trends that have the potential to result in major epidemics. Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine coverage includes:

New knowledge on pathogens (viruses, bacteria, protozoa, helminths, fungi and prions) and on host-pathogen interactions.
Animal studies and in vitro experiments evaluating scientific efficacy of natural products used for the treatment of infectious diseases.
Immunity to pathogenic micro-organisms and systemic and mucosal immunology of infected organisms.
Investigation of pharmacological and molecular biological mechanisms of natural products for infectious diseases.
Epidemiological papers should provide new knowledge on pathogen-host interactions and/or host-population interactions related to infectious diseases.
The new technologies, such as nanotechnology, novel emulsification methods, and photodynamic therapy, in the formulation of natural products for infectious diseases.
Clinical trial of natural products for infectious diseases using scientific statistical analysis.

Articles that incorporate recent data into new methods, applications, or approaches (e.g., statistical modeling) that enhance infectious and herbal medicine are strongly encouraged.

Objectives

Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi; the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. In recent times, natural products have been as widely used as chemical drugs against clinical diseases. Most chemical drugs that are widely used today were isolated from natural products, and thus natural products will continue to be important raw materials for the development of new drugs. However, since natural products are the byproducts of empirical medicine, they lack scientific validation. Currently, various scientific experiments are being conducted to fill this gap by evaluating the efficacy of natural product. These infectious diseases were conquered through the discovery of antibiotics and antiviral agents. However, emerging antibiotic-resistant strains and mutant microorganisms are more powerful than the existing antibiotic-resistant strains and mutant microorganisms. In particular, new emerging infectious diseases in the last 20 years have become global issues.

Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine brings together veterinary and human health researchers and policy-makers by providing a venue for publishing integrated and global approaches to infectious and herbal medicine. The Editors will consider papers that focus on timely collaborative and multi-disciplinary research in infectious and herbal medicine. This journal provides rapid publication of original papers, reviews, and potential discussion papers embracing this collaborative spirit. Papers should advance the scientific knowledge of the sources, transmission, prevention and control of infectious and be authored by scientists with expertise in areas such as natural products and epidemiology.

The audience of Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine might be veterinary and medical scientists, infectious disease specialists, virologists, public health researchers, pharmacy, agriculture, among others working in research institutes, universities, governmental organizations, private agencies, and pharmaceutical industry, among others.

Peer review process

Introduction

Peer review is applied to all research articles and the majority of other article types published in Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine (IDHM). This usually entails at least two independent, expert peer reviewers.

Policy

All submissions to Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine are first checked for completeness (criteria for desk reject are available in the Guide for Authors) before being sent to an Editor, who decides whether they are suitable for peer review. If an Editor is on the author list or has a competing interest in a particular manuscript, another member of the Editorial Board will be assigned to oversee peer review. When making a decision, Editors will consider the peer-reviewed reports, but they will not be bound by the opinions or recommendations contained in them. A single peer reviewer's or the Editor's concern may result in the manuscript being rejected. Peer review reports are sent to authors along with the editorial decision on their manuscript.

At Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine papers undergo a single-blind review process - meaning that the reviewers’ identity is not shared with the authors.

Selection

Peer reviewer selection is critical to the publication process. A variety of factors influence it, including expertise, reputation, specific recommendations, conflicts of interest, and previous performance. All of these qualities are highly desirable: speed, thoroughness, sound reasoning, and collegiality.

When two independent peer reviewers cannot be obtained, the Editor may act as a second reviewer or make a decision based on only one report. If acting as a second reviewer, the editor must have sufficient knowledge in the area and sign the review to ensure transparency in the peer review process.

Before accepting an invitation to review a manuscript, potential peer reviewers should notify the Editor of any potential conflicts of interest. Editors' and peer reviewers' communications contain confidential information that should not be shared with third parties.

Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine is committed to making editorial decisions and publishing them as soon as possible, and we believe that an efficient editorial process benefits both our authors and the research community as a whole. As a result, we ask reviewers to respond within the agreed-upon time frame. If reviewers anticipate a delay, we ask that they notify us so that we can keep the authors updated and, if necessary, find alternative solutions.

Diversity and equity

Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and strives for demographic diversity among peer reviewers. When inviting peer reviewers, editors are bly encouraged to consider geographical regions, gender identities, racial/ethnic groups, and other groups.

Misconduct

False or misleading information, such as identity theft and suggesting fake peer-reviewers, will result in the manuscript being rejected, further investigation in accordance with the Publisher's misconduct policy (https://www.pagepress.org/site/plagiarism_misconduct), and notification to the authors' institutions/employers. The Publisher follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance about peer reviewer fraud/falsification.

Guidance

The primary goal of peer review is to provide the Editor with the information needed to make a fair, evidence-based decision that adheres to the journal's editorial criteria. Review reports should also assist authors in revising their paper so that it can be accepted for publication. Reports that include a recommendation to reject the paper should explain the major flaws in the research; this will help the authors prepare their manuscript for possible re-submission (if allowed by the Editor) or submission to a different journal.

A quick guide to reviewing is available here

Before submitting a report, reviewers should ask themselves the following questions:

How would you react if you received this report?
Do you find the tone offensive?
Is it polite and professional?
Do the authors or their competitors receive any unnecessary personal or antagonistic remarks?

Please keep in mind that any offensive language in your report may be removed by the Editor.

Publication Frequency

All papers are published as soon as they have been accepted, by adding them to the "current" volume's Table of Contents.

Article Processing Charge

Open Access publishing does have its costs. However, as a promotional activity, all articles accepted for publication in Infectious Diseases and Herbal Medicine will be published completely exempt from any charge.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Archiving

This journal utilizes the PKP Preservation Network, the Global LOCKSS Network and Portico to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration.

Pre- and post-prints

The Publisher allows and encourages authors to deposit both their pre- and post-prints in Open-Access institutional archives or repositories. The primary benefit of pre- and post-print self-archiving is reaching a larger audience which enhances the visibility and impact of your research.