Microbes and Infectious Diseases
Journal / Microbes and Infectious Diseases / Submissions

 

Microbes and Infectious Diseases
Guide for Authors
Available at: https://mid.journals.ekb.eg/journal/authors.note
Contents:
1. General Information
2. Copyright, Licensing, Publication Rights
3. Originality and plagiarism
4. Types of Articles
5. Manuscript Preparation
6. Supplementary Material
7. Pre-submission Checklist
8. Peer Review Process
9. Manuscript Revision
10. After Acceptance
Reprints/Offprints
Permissions
11. Privacy Statement
12. Publication Fees
13. Continuous Medical Education Activities (CME)

1. General Information
- Microbes and Infectious Diseases is the official journal of Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt. Authors from other universities and scientific institutions inside and outside Egypt are welcomed. Microbes and Infectious Diseases is a peer-reviewed journal publishing articles related to the fields of medical/clinical/pharmaceutical microbiology, infections prevention and control, and infectious diseases.
- Microbes and Infectious Diseases follows the ICMJE's Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/about-the-recommendations/purpose-of-the-recommendations.html.
- Microbes and Infectious Diseases follows guidelines and best practices published by professional organizations, including Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals from ICMJE (www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf) and Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (https://doaj.org/bestpractice).
- We will not consider any manuscript previously published nor under review by another publication. Once accepted for review, the manuscript must not be submitted elsewhere.
Unethical publishing, such as plagiarism, undisclosed conflicts of interest, inappropriate authorship, and duplicate publication are forbidden.
- Ethical responsibilities of authors: Authors must disclose any financial relationship(s) at submission, and the authors must update any disclosures prior to publication. The authors must also state any Information that could be perceived as potential conflict(s) of interest that includes, but is not limited to, grants or funding, employment, affiliations, royalties, patents, honoraria, consultancies, inventions, stock options/ownership, or expert testimony (please see the publication ethics before submitting the article).
- Manuscripts must be written in English and to be 'spell-checked' and 'grammar checked'.
- Publication fees are periodically reviewed and can be informed to authors by direct communication. Additional fees for colored pictures and extra pages are also applicable.
- Online submission: All manuscripts should be sent on line Via Microbes and Infectious diseases website (https://mid.journals.ekb.eg/), authors should first register to the Editorial system, then Please follow the hyperlink “manuscript submission” and upload all of your manuscript files following the instructions given under the title manuscript preparation. The system converts your article files to a single PDF file used in the peer-review process. Editable files (e.g., Word) are required to typeset your article for final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, is sent by e-mail.
- Manuscript should be prepared according to Manuscript preparation (see the relevant section below).

2. Copyright, Licensing, Publication Rights
- Microbes and Infectious Diseases is published under the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows unrestricted reuse of the material with proper attribution. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles.
- Authors have copyright but license exclusive rights in their article to the publisher (Zagazig University) *.
- Authors have the right to:
• Share their article according to the [Personal Use rights] ** so long as it contains the end user license and the DOI link to the version of record in this journal.
• Retain intellectual property rights (including research data).
• Proper attribution and credit for the published work.
- * This includes the right to make and authorize commercial use.
- ** Personal use rights:
Authors can use their articles, in full or in part, for scholarly, non-commercial purposes such as:
• Use by an author in the author’s teaching activities (including distribution of copies, paper or electronic).
• Distribution of copies to known research colleagues for their personal use (but not for Commercial Use).
• Inclusion in a thesis or dissertation (if this is not to be published commercially).
• Use in a subsequent compilation of the author’s works.
• Extending the Article to book-length form.
• Preparation of other derivative works (but not for Commercial Use).

3. Originality and plagiarism
- The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works. If the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.
- To verify originality, your article may be checked by the originality detection service. All new submissions to Microbes and Infectious Diseases are automatically screened using Crossref Similarity Check (powered by iThenticate) to screen all new manuscripts for plagiarism within the editorial system. Editors may also choose to run a similarity report at any other stage during the peer review process or post-publication. Authors and researchers can also use iThenticate to screen their work before submission by visiting http://www.ithenticate.com/.

4. Types of Articles
The journal editorial board is considering for publication the following:
a) Original Articles
- Should report relevant original research not published before, in the following format:
• Word limit: 3500 words (excluding the abstract and references).
• Abstract: structured up to 300 words to include Background, Methods, Results and Conclusions.
• References: 40 or less.
• Tables and figures: no more than 7 Tables/Figures.
b) Short Reports (case reports)
- Should describe a case or several cases presenting with an unusual clinical aspect of a disease or novel perspectives upon, or solutions to, clinically relevant issues in the following format:
• Word limit: 1000 words (excluding the abstract and references).
• Abstract: unstructured of no more than 200 words.
• References: 10-12
• Tables and figures: no more than 2 Tables/Figures
c) Review Articles
- Review topics should be related to all fields of clinical and basic medical sciences and should reflect trends and progress or a synthesis of data in the following format:
• Word limit: 4000 words (excluding the abstract and references).
• References: 40 or less.
• Abstract: Up to 150 words, unstructured.
• Tables/Figures: Data in the text should not be repeated extensively in tables or figures.
d) Systematic review or meta-analysis
- Topics should be related to all fields of clinical and basic medical sciences. The manuscript must include 5 sections following the PRISMA guidelines (PRISMA Checklist: http://prisma-statement.org/documents/PRISMA/ 202009l20checklist.doc; and PRISMA flow diagram: http://prisma- statement.org/documents/PRISMA/202009.20flow/20diagram.doc) and should reflect trends and progress or synthesis of data in the following format:
• Word limit: 4000 words (excluding the abstract and references).
• References: 50 or less.
• Abstract: Up to 350 words, unstructured.
• Tables/Figures: Data in the text should not be repeated extensively in tables or figures.
e) Mini-review article
- Review topics should be related to clinical aspects of infectious diseases, public health and infection control and should reflect trends and progress or synthesis of data in the following format:
• Word limit: 2000 words (excluding the abstract and references).
• References: 20 or less.
• Abstract: Up to 150 words, unstructured.
• Tables/Figures: Data in the text should not be repeated extensively in tables or figures.
f) Correspondence
- Comments by readers about articles that have been published in Microbes and Infectious Diseases within 6 months of its online posting in the following format:
• Word limit: 700 words.
• Tables/Figures: Typically, not included (A maximum of 1 figure or table).
• References: 5 or less.
g) Editorials
- Editorials are solicited by the editorial board members or those who are invited by Editor-in-Chief in the following format:
• Word limit: 1200 words.
• Tables/Figures: A maximum of 1 figure or table.
• References: 10 or less.
• Ensure that there is a clear message in the conclusion.
h) Letter to the Editor
These should be submitted in response to recently published articles in the journal addressing a specific issue and to introduce a focused scientific opinion or point of view, in the following format:
• Word limit: 500 words.
• Abstract: none.
• Tables/Figures: A maximum of 1 figure or table.
• References: 10 or less.
• No subheadings.
• Begin with ‘Dear Editor’
i) Continuous Medical Education Forum (For EB)
- This type of article is restricted to The Journal Editorial Board (EB). The CME Forum from EB will be presented as a case presentation or clinical vignettes scenario quiz.

5. Manuscript Preparation
- The manuscript submitted to Microbes and Infectious Diseases should be word-processed, typed on one column. With the same rules, abstracts are typed on one column followed by keywords. Pages should have a margin of 2.5 cm. The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font in Times New Roman.
- The submitted manuscript should include:
5.1. Cover Page
5.2. Title Page
5.3. Abstract
5.4. Introduction
5.5. Methods
5.6. Results
5.7. Discussion
5.8. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
5.9. References
5.10. Tables
5.11. Figures
5.12. Supplemental Material
5.1. Cover page
- The manuscript should be submitted with a cover letter stating the following:
• That the manuscript is submitted for consideration for publication in Microbes and Infectious Diseases. Please specify the category of the submitted manuscript.
• That the research contained in the manuscript has not been published, and the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere.
• That all authors have participated in the concept and design, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting or revising of the manuscript, and that they have approved the manuscript as submitted.
5.2. Title page
- This page should include:
• The article type: Original article, short report, review article, etc.
• Title of paper: concise and informative. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible. (Including animal species if appropriate).
• Author names and affiliations. Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.
• Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about Methodology and Materials. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.
• Conflict of Interest: Any financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) the authors' actions.
• Financial Disclosures: Any specific financial interests, relationships and affiliations relevant to the subject of the manuscript. These can include employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership, etc.
5.3. Abstract
- The Abstract should be no more than 250 words. Abstracts are to be structured into four paragraphs as follows: a Background (including aim of the work), Methods, Results and Conclusions. References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard, or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
- Keywords: Up to five keywords should be provided at the end of the Abstract using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'), separated by semicolons.
5.4. Introduction
- The Introduction should contain a clear statement of the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey, a summary of the results, or conclusions.
5.5. Methods
- Sufficient information should be given to permit repetition of the experimental work.
- Informed consent and ethics committee/IRB approval: A paper describing experimental work in humans must: (1) indicate that informed consent has been obtained from patients where appropriate, (2) include a statement that the responsible ethics committee (e.g: Institutional Review Board, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University) has given approval. Do not use patients’ names, initials or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material.
- Study design: We encourage the use of reporting guidelines such the CONSORT statement for randomized, controlled trials and the STROBE statement for observational studies (see http://www.equator-network.org/).
- Studies in humans and animals: If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans (see: https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research- involving-human-subjects/).. The manuscript should be in line with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals and aim for the inclusion of representative human populations (sex, age and ethnicity) as per those recommendations. The terms sex and gender should be used correctly.
- Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.
- All animal experiments should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and should be carried out in accordance with the U.K. Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 and associated guidelines, EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Institutes of Health guide for the care and use of laboratory animals (NIH Publications No. 8023, revised 1978) and the authors should clearly indicate in the manuscript that such guidelines have been followed. The sex of animals must be indicated, and where appropriate, the influence (or association) of sex on the results of the study. The editors reserve the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with the above-mentioned requirements. The authors will be held responsible for false statements or for failure to fulfill the above-mentioned requirements.
- Equipment: Manufacturer, city, state and country must be given.
- Chemical substances: must be properly identified. Except for standard laboratory chemicals, the source of supply must be given. Drugs must be identified by the generic or official name wherever possible. Proprietary names should be avoided.
- Genes: Italic characters should be used for gene symbols including genotypes, alleles etc.
- Units of measurement: Units should conform to the SI convention, except for blood pressure (which should be expressed in mmHg) and hemoglobin (g/l). Gas or pressure values should be given as mmHg with kPa in parentheses or vice versa. Where molecular weight is known, the amount of a substance should be expressed in mol or appropriate subunit (mmol etc.). Energy should be expressed in kJ.
- Statistical analyses: Describe statistical methods in sufficient detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. Computer software packages that are used for anything other than widely known standard statistical procedures should be identified by name or acronym and by author or organization of origin.
When variability is expressed in terms of the SEM or SD, the number of observations (n) must also be given. Both the sample size and statistical significance with p values should be predefined.
5.6. Results
- The results should be stated concisely without discussion and should not normally contain any references. The same data should not be presented in figures and tables. Do not repeat all the data that are set out in the tables or figures in the text; emphasize or summarize only important observations.
5.7. Discussion
- The Discussion should deal with the interpretation of the results and not recapitulate them. We encourage authors to write their Discussion in a structured way, as follows:
• Statement of principal findings
• Strengths and weaknesses of the study
• Strengths and weaknesses in relation to other studies
• Discussion of important differences in results; the meaning of the study
• Unanswered questions and future research.
• Conclusions: The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.
5.8. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
- The corresponding author will include a summary statement in the text of the manuscript in a separate section before the reference list that include; Declaration of interest and Funding information. If no conflict exists, the authors should state: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
- Contributors: Each author is required to declare his or her individual contribution to the article: all authors must have materially participated in the research and/or article preparation, so roles for all authors may be described. The statement that all authors have approved the final article should be true and included in the disclosure.
- Authorship: All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to be submitted. (Please fill the Copyright Transfer Form and submit to the journal).
5.9. References
The authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references. References should be formatted according to the American Medical Association Manual of Style (10th ed.) Each reference should be identified in the text in numerical order and should be identified by superscript Arabic numerals. Please begin the reference list on a separate page after the acknowledgments. Do not use “Endnotes” or similar programs for entering references.
When formatting references, provide all authors’ names when fewer than seven; when seven or more, list the first six and add et al. Any articles that are not in English must be translated. See Cumulative Index Medicus for abbreviating journal titles.
Examples of correct forms of references are:
Journal Article
Talaat M, Abdel-Shakour K, Hamed A, El-Anwar MW, El-Kashishy K, Radwan H. Fine needle aspiration cytology versus frozen section biopsy in management of throid nodules. Medical Journal of Zagazig University 2011; 17(14): 5-10.
Online Journals
Friedman SA. Preeclampsia: a review of the role of prostaglandins. Obstet Gynecol [serial online]. January 1988;71:22–37. Available from: BRS Information Technologies, McLean, VA. Accessed December 15, 1990.
Book Chapter
Todd VR. Visual information analysis: frame of reference for visual perception. In: Kramer P, Hinojosa J, eds. Frames of Reference for Pediatric Occupational Therapy. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1999:205–256.
Entire Book
Webster NR, Galley HF. Anaesthesia Science. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.; 2006.
Web Sites
Gostin LO. Drug use and HIV/AIDS [JAMA HIV/AIDS Web site]. June 1, 1996. Available at: http://www.ama- assn.org/special/hiv/ethics. Accessed June 26, 2012.
5.10. Tables
- Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals. Tables must be submitted in Excel or Word table format and not as images. Each table should have a short informative heading which is self-explanatory without reference to the text. Footnotes should be kept to a minimum. The units in which the results are expressed should be given in parentheses at the head of each column and not repeated on each line of the table. Number tables in order of their mention in the text.
5.11. Figures
- Graphs and diagrams: Line drawings and graphs should be of a professional standard. Freehand or typewritten lettering and numbering are unacceptable. Ruled lines, curves and symbols must be sufficiently bold to withstand reduction. Curves should not be drawn beyond the experimental points, nor should experimental points extend beyond the scales of the axes. For scatter diagrams, solid symbols are preferred.
- Images: Figures can be submitted as EPS, JPEG, and TIFF file types. Numbers, letters and symbols must be large enough to be read easily after reduction. If photographs of patients are used, either the subject should not be identifiable, or the picture must be accompanied by written permission to use the figure.
- Legends for figures: Legends should be short, self-explanatory and contain enough information to identify the figures and enable them to stand as a separate entity from the text.

6. Supplementary material (for online publication only)
These should be submitted with the manuscript for peer-review and approval by the Editors. Supplemental material, which should be referenced in the body of the main text, can include figures, tables, movies, and animations (extra- material beyond the journal limit of tables/figures for each manuscript format). Supplemental Material will be published Online-only as submitted. It will not be copyedited or formatted by the publisher in any way. The accuracy and presentation
of Supplemental Material is the sole responsibility of the authors. Please submit your material together with the article and supply a concise, descriptive caption for each supplementary file.

7. Pre-submission checklist
- All necessary files have been uploaded
- A cover letter which should include the name, address, e-mail and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communicating with the other authors about revisions and final approval.
- Manuscript:
• Include keywords
• All figures (include relevant captions)
• All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
• Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided
• Manuscript has been 'spell-checked' and 'grammar checked'
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
• A competing interest statement is provided, even if the authors have no competing interests to declare
• Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed.

8. Peer Review Process
- All manuscripts are subject to a strict peer review process (double blind peer review process) involving members of the editorial board and external reviewers with expertise in the subject matter.
- The process starts with an initial review by the Editor-In-Chief or Co-Editor-In-Chief who makes an initial assessment of suitability for Microbes and Infectious Diseases Journal.
- All new submissions to Microbes and Infectious Diseases are automatically screened using Crossref Similarity Check (powered by iThenticate) to screen all new manuscripts for plagiarism within the editorial system. The Editor-In-Chief may also choose to run a similarity report at any other stage during the peer review process or post-publication. Authors can also use iThenticate to screen their work before submission by visiting http://www.ithenticate.com/.
- If the manuscript is deemed of interest, it is then assigned to a member of the editorial board who serves as the principal reviewing editor.
- The reviewing editor invites external reviewers (a minimum of two independent expert reviewers) who are blinded to the manuscript author(s) to further assess the manuscript, recommend any revisions, and offer their opinion on acceptability.
- Depending on the reviewing editor/reviewers’ recommendations, the Editor-In-Chief is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles.
- Manuscripts can be accepted, with minor or major revision, or rejected. If the decision is ‘revision’, the authors are requested to take the remarks of the referees and editors into account. A second reviewing process can follow. Upon final acceptance, the authors will be notified by an
E mail, and the accepted manuscript will be finally edited by the language editor for free linguistic edit service.
- After linguistic edit of the accepted article, the galley proof will be sent as a PDF file to the corresponding author. This proof must be carefully corrected and sent back within two working days.
- We encourage a systematic approach to manuscript review and provide reviewers with the "COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers" (Please, see: https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines-new/cope-ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers).
- The journal’s first decision for the first-round revision may be expected at the earliest four weeks after submission, and the final decision of acceptance or rejection is expected within 6-8 weeks. For details link to Pear Review Process.

9. Manuscript Revision
If you are asked to revise your manuscript you will be expected to provide an authors’ response to reviewers word file that responds in detail to each point raised by reviewers or editors, and to highlight new material in the text using a different color. If a manuscript returned to the authors for revision is not returned to the Editorial Office within the stipulated time-period (average 3-5 weeks), it may be treated as a new manuscript, which could delay your possible publication in the journal.

10. After Acceptance
• Reprints/offprint
The publication processing charges are submitted for providing the authors with a free copy from the on-Line published article (pdf-format). If the authors asked for printed copies, a minimum of 30 copies is essential with extra-charge.
• Permissions
Verbatim material or illustrations taken from other published sources must be accompanied by a written statement from the author, giving permission to Microbes and Infectious Diseases for reproduction.

11. Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

12. Publication Fees
The publication fee for the Microbes and Infectious Diseases is 1200 EP for Egyptian authors only (Free for non-Egyptian authors). Publication fees will be required once paper is finally accepted for publication. The acceptance to pay the handling fee is not a guarantee that the paper will be accepted for publication. Authors may still request (in advance) that the editorial office waive some/or all the handling fee under special circumstances.

13. Continuous Medical Education (CME) Activities
To strengthen awareness of innovative continuing medical education (CME) as a part of continuing professional development, Microbes and Infectious Diseases is intended to include the reading of an article/each issue; namely Continuous medical education forum (CME from EB). The CME from EB will be presented as a case presentation or clinical vignettes scenario quiz. The overall goal of Journal CME activities is to provide professionals and researchers with convenient, quality continuing medical education. By providing this forum, it is expected that participants will increase their knowledge and skills about current advances in all fields of medical/clinical/pharmaceutical microbiology, infection prevention and control, and infectious diseases and immediately apply this knowledge into practice and in the research community.