Journal profile · INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Epidemics
ISSN 1755-4365 · eISSN 1878-0067 · Elsevier · NETHERLANDS · Founded 2009
Epidemics: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.44; fully open access; APC about USD 2,780; median 206 days to acceptance (103 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 70 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Epidemics is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are COVID-19 epidemiological studies, Influenza Virus Research Studies and Data-Driven Disease Surveillance, together about 41.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal on Infectious Disease DynamicsEpidemics publishes papers on infectious disease dynamics with a particular emphasis on transmission modeling and phylodynamics. Its scope spans within-host and between-host processes, with special interest in work that links these scales through data-driven mathematical, statistical, and computational models. Key areas include modeling of population-level disease dynamics; phylodynamic inference of transmission histories, epidemic trajectories, and evolutionary patterns from genetic sequence data; and integration of biological, epidemiological, genomic, and ecological data to understand pathogen evolution, host–pathogen interactions, and population genetics of infectious agents. The journal welcomes model-based studies that address infectious disease dynamics in any hosts and those that inform policy for control and prevention.The journal will only publish papers that use high quality novel or published data in their analysis. Successful manuscripts are typically multidisciplinary and integrative. Methodological manuscripts are only acceptable if they present a clear and relevant biological application for which novel insight is gained.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Editor-in-chief Cecile ViboudPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 7%); most named United States 18, United Kingdom 7, Netherlands 4, Mainland China 3, Hong Kong, China 2 (41 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- COVID-19 epidemiological studiesMathematics27.5%
- Influenza Virus Research StudiesMedicine8.1%
- Data-Driven Disease SurveillanceMedicine6.1%
- Animal Disease Management and EpidemiologyAgricultural and Biological Sciences6%
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchMedicine5.5%
- Viral Infections and Outbreaks ResearchMedicine5.4%
- Zoonotic diseases and public healthMedicine4.4%
- Viral Infections and VectorsMedicine3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Infectious Diseases | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Infectious Diseases | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Infectious Diseases | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- 2.44LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.01LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.81LetPub ·
- h-index
- 31LetPub ·
- h-index
- 76OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 515OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.78OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 67LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 954 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 64 | 64 | 32 |
| 2025 | 70 | 70 | 209 |
| 2024 | 70 | 70 | 531 |
| 2023 | 70 | 70 | 654 |
| 2022 | 99 | 99 | 1,561 |
| 2021 | 70 | 70 | 1,958 |
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
206 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 145 days – 272 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 3 days (103 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 213 days
- Sample
- 103 articles with submission and acceptance dates (155 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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 29 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 2,780 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,730 / EUR 2,550 / GBP 2,190 / JPY 338,600 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,860 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,640 | — | — |
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
- 1–7
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
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 peer review 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
- Founded
- 2009
- ISSN
- 1755-4365
- Electronic ISSN
- 1878-0067
- 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 Epidemics
What CAS zone is Epidemics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Epidemics is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Infectious Diseases. 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 Epidemics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.44; CiteScore 5.2, h-index 76.
How long does peer review take at Epidemics?
Based on the dates recorded on 103 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 206 days (interquartile range 145–272 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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 Epidemics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; 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 Epidemics based?
Of the 41 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 7%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (18), United Kingdom (7) and Netherlands (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Epidemics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Epidemics is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Epidemics open access, and what is the APC?
Epidemics is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,780.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .