The year 2004 will mark the 100th anniversary of The Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID). The past 99 years in infectious-disease research have been remarkableand ably chronicled in JID. The antibiotic era was launched, with spectacular successes in curing once-fatal infections such as pneumococcal meningitis and tuberculosis. Global vaccination programs have eliminated the scourge of smallpox, and childhood vaccination programs have dramatically reduced the impact of polio, measles, mumps, and rubella viruses, as well as of encapsulated invasive Haemophilus influenzae. Improved diagnostic techniques have permitted identification and characterization of agents not previously known to cause human disease, ranging from Bartonella to prions. Some diseases not previously thought to be associated with infectious agentsfor example, gastric and duodenal ulcers and certain cancersare now known to be caused by bacteria or viruses.
Control of infectious diseases over the past 99 years has not been a universally successful story. Worldwide travel has opened the door to the spread of infections such as those caused by Ebola, Lassa, and West Nile viruses and to one of the most catastrophic epidemics in human history, that of HIV/AIDS. Societal changes have brought with them outbreaks of Legionella infections associated with cooling systems, staphylococcal toxic-shock syndromes associated with certain tampons, and new-variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, associated with certain animal-husbandry practices.
During the 20th and now the 21st centuries, JID has been a premier forum for high-quality infectious-disease research. Eight editors have overseen the evolution of JID over its first 99 years, and for the past 14 years the able steward has been Marvin Turck. Under his leadership, subscriptions have grown by 12%, to over 11,000 in 2002. In addition, during Dr. Turck's tenure electronic publication of JID was launched, as was twice-monthly print publication. Approximately 1600 manuscripts are submitted annually, compared to 1200 submissions in 1989, and after stringent peer review approximately one-quarter to one-third are published. The time from submission to publication has shortened dramatically under Dr. Turck's leadership.
Following in Marvin Turck's footsteps will be difficult. I am fortunate to have assembled an outstanding group of physician investigators to help direct JID. Dr. David Hooper, a leader in the study of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance, is now the deputy editor. The associate editors span the spectrum of adult and pediatric infectious diseases, ranging from molecular biology to clinical epidemiology. They include Drs. Ann Arvin, Julie Gerberding, Joe Kovacs, Dan Kuritzkes, Bob Munford, Bill Schaffner, Fred Southwick, Peter Weller, and Joe Wheat. An international editorial advisory board includes investigators from 13 countries on 5 continents. The processing and tracking of submitted manuscripts will be supervised by the managing editor, Lee Powers, who brings to the post more than 25 years of experience in medical publishing. He will be assisted ably by W. Greg Scherban, Jenny Petersen, and Jessica Clarke.
Changes in the format of JID print and electronic versions will appear over time, to promote ease of use. We will ensure that these changes do not affect the quality of the articles published. Increased electronic submission and review should substantially shorten the time between submission and publication. JID will occasionally solicit editorials to accompany particularly pertinent manuscripts and will solicit review articles or perspectives on timely areas of infectious-disease research. We also encourage the submission of supplements to cover specific infectious-disease research topics more broadly.
The primary goal of the Journal will continue to be the publication of outstanding manuscripts spanning the range of infectious-disease research. Since our specialty ranges from molecular genetics to clinical investigation and from tiny prions to large helminths to the human host with which the pathogens interact, JID encourages submission of manuscripts that cover the spectrum of infectious-disease research activities.
JID and Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) are the two principal publications of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). I look forward to working with Sherry Gorbach, the editor of CID, to make our journals even more complementary, and with the membership of both the IDSA and the broader infectious-disease community worldwide, to continue JID's preeminence in infectious-disease research. I welcome your advice and support in this endeavor.
(Martin S. Hirsch)
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