Journal profile · Medicine-Infectious Diseases
Biosafety and Health
ISSN 2590-0536 · Elsevier · Netherlands
Biosafety and Health: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.8 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,250; median 118 days to acceptance (88 articles, last 24 months); 53 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Biosafety and Health is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research, Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology and SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing, together about 25.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Infectious Diseases. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Biosafety and Health is an open access, peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the Chinese Medical Association, managed by National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC). This journal aims to publish original research findings and thoughts in any aspect connected with public health and biosafety. Topics include but are not limited to:Identification and characterization of biological threats;Origin, transmission, and evolution of biological agents;Surveillance, risk assessment, and early-warning;Prevention, diagnosis, and therapeutics;Synthetic biotechnology, genome editing, and other new biotechniques;Biosafety materials;Policies and standards.Biosafety and Health is published bimonthly in English language. Article types include Original Research, Reviews, Perspectives, Correspondence, Case Report, News and Views, Highlights, Comments and policy forum, etc.P-ISSN: 2096-6962
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Infectious Diseases
Editor-in-chief Guizhen WuPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 126 in mainland China (about 83%); most named Mainland China 126, United States 4, Singapore 3, Hong Kong, China 2, Canada 2 (151 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchMedicine11.9%
- Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiologyMedicine8%
- SARS-CoV-2 detection and testingMedicine5.6%
- Viral Infections and VectorsMedicine5.6%
- COVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesMedicine5.4%
- Bacillus and Francisella bacterial researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- COVID-19 epidemiological studiesMathematics4.6%
- Viral Infections and Outbreaks ResearchMedicine4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.65LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.71LetPub ·
- h-index
- 29OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 123OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.42OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 45LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 382 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 46 | 46 | 6 |
| 2025 | 53 | 53 | 195 |
| 2024 | 43 | 43 | 285 |
| 2023 | 51 | 51 | 481 |
| 2022 | 61 | 61 | 955 |
| 2021 | 41 | 41 | 520 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
118 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 90 days – 159 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (88 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 121 days
- Sample
- 88 articles with submission and acceptance dates (89 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 9 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 31 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 113 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 22 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,250 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,500 / EUR 2,280 / GBP 2,000 / JPY 294,950 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,500 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,250 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 1
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted12
- commentaryArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- editorialArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- letterArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- opinionArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- original researchArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- original research articleArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- perspectiveArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- reviewArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- review articleArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- short reportShort Reports are intended to communicate brief reports of data from original research that are concise and provocative.Length not stated
- short reviewArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
- viewpointArticle types include but are not limited to original research, review article, perspective, short report, commentary, opinion, letter, and editorial.1. Origina…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2590-0536
- Print ISSN
- 2096-6962
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Biosafety and Health
What CAS zone is Biosafety and Health in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Biosafety and Health is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Public, Environmental & Occupational Health. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Biosafety and Health?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.8; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.6, h-index 29.
How long does peer review take at Biosafety and Health?
Based on the dates recorded on 88 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 118 days (interquartile range 90–159 days); authors report an average review time of about 9 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Biosafety and Health?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 1; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Biosafety and Health based?
Of the 151 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 126 (about 83%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (126), United States (4) and Singapore (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Biosafety and Health?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Biosafety and Health is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Biosafety and Health open access, and what is the APC?
Biosafety and Health is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,250.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-28). Last updated: .