Journal profile · PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response
ISSN 2094-7321 · eISSN 2094-7313 · World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific · Philippines
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.6 (journal website); diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 15 weeks (community reports); 44 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response is published by World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific 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 Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research, Disaster Response and Management and COVID-19 epidemiological studies, together about 26.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
WPSAR covers all activities related to health security, including prevention, preparedness, surveillance, response and recovery activities for public health events and emergencies, with a focus on topics that are relevant to the Western Pacific Region. Public health events and emergencies include, but are not limited to, acute or ongoing communicable diseases, emerging infectious diseases, natural disasters, food safety, bioterrorism, and chemical and radiological events. Other health security topics may include health system infrastructure and governance, surveillance system monitoring and evaluation, emergency response operations, public health capacity-building and training, risk assessment and risk communications.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Philippines 13, Australia 3, United States 2, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 1 (22 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Viral Infections and Outbreaks ResearchMedicine10.5%
- Disaster Response and ManagementHealth Professions8.6%
- COVID-19 epidemiological studiesMathematics7.7%
- Influenza Virus Research StudiesMedicine7.2%
- Data-Driven Disease SurveillanceMedicine5.7%
- Respiratory viral infections researchMedicine4.9%
- Tuberculosis Research and EpidemiologyMedicine4.7%
- Mosquito-borne diseases and controlMedicine4.7%
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 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 4 |
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
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedPublisher website
Other: Index Medicus, Google Scholar, EBSCO
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.35LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.47LetPub ·
- h-index
- 34OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 187OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.87OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 96.51%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 30LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 672 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 41 | 41 | 33 |
| 2025 | 44 | 44 | 20 |
| 2024 | 41 | 41 | 56 |
| 2023 | 57 | 57 | 204 |
| 2022 | 44 | 44 | 193 |
| 2021 | 55 | 55 | 349 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 15 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 30 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double 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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
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)
What to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 1,000 words
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional, 2
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- brief reportA short report describing any aspect of health security for public health events and emergencies. These can be unstructured, or structured as per an original re…main text ≤ 1,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 1 · references ≤ 10
- case reportAn unstructured article describing an unusual clinical case or series of clinical cases with public health significance. Sub-headings may be used to increase th…main text ≤ 250 words · abstract ≤ 250 words · figures and tables ≤ 3 · references ≤ 15
- letter to the editorA letter commenting on a previously published article OR a letter commenting on the theme of the issue. Word limit: ≤500 words ≤5 references ≤1 illustrationmain text ≤ 500 words · figures and tables ≤ 1 · references ≤ 5
- literature reviewBelow you will find instructions for each article type. Please note that WPSAR does not publish literature reviews, systematic reviews or meta-analyses, thus ar…Length not stated
- meta-analysisBelow you will find instructions for each article type. Please note that WPSAR does not publish literature reviews, systematic reviews or meta-analyses, thus ar…Length not stated
- perspectiveAn unstructured article discussing an issue regarding health security for public health events. The scope of the discussion must be clearly defined. Word limit:…main text ≤ 1,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 1 · references ≤ 10
- systematic reviewBelow you will find instructions for each article type. Please note that WPSAR does not publish literature reviews, systematic reviews or meta-analyses, thus ar…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- AI use Use of artificial intelligence (AI)
In line with ICMJE recommendations, authors should declare if any AI-assisted technology (large-language models [LLMs], chatbots or image creation tools) was used in the production of their article. Authors should name the tool and describe how it was used in the cover letter. In addition, use of the tool should be described in the appropriate section of the text, as follows:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflicts of interest
All authors and reviewers will be required to state any potential conflicts of interest, which will be assessed by the Editorial Team. A conflict of interest is defined by ICMJE as “when an author or author's institution, reviewer, or editor has financial or personal relationships that inappropriately influence (bias) his or her actions”. Conflicts of interest may be financial, institutional, rese…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Ethics statement required for all articles; authors responsible for obtaining ethics approval. Model summary
It is the responsibility of authors to gain appropriate ethics approval for their work, in accordance with the rules of each author's institution, before the work is undertaken. An ethics statement is required for all articles, regardless of whether ethics approval was necessary.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Notice
© World Health Organization (WHO) 2026. Some rights reserved. WHO Permissions and licensing The articles in this publication are published by the World Health Organization and contain contributions by individual authors. Copyright in the individual articles is vested in the authors. The articles are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecomm…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Open access under CC BY 3.0 IGO license. Model summary
The articles are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/legalcode), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review process
Literature reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analyses are not published. Model summary
Every article is initially screened by the Editorial Team to ensure it fits the scope of the journal. All articles, with the exception of Regional Analyses, Letters to the Editor, and News, Meeting and Conference Reports, then undergo review by one Associate Editor and at least two external peer reviewers. This double-blinded peer review process ensures that the reviewer does not know the identity…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
WPSAR is committed to deterring plagiarism in scientific publication, including self-plagiarism. WPSAR uses iThenticate to screen all submissions for similarity to published material. Submissions with a significant amount of plagiarized text (>15%, not including quoted text and references) will be subject to additional review. In such cases, authors may be asked to revise the text and resubmit, or…
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
- World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific
- Country or region
- Philippines
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2094-7321
- Electronic ISSN
- 2094-7313
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 17, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Western Pacific Surveillance and Response
What CAS zone is Western Pacific Surveillance and Response in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Western Pacific Surveillance and Response 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 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Western Pacific Surveillance and Response?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.6 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2, h-index 34.
How long does peer review take at Western Pacific Surveillance and Response?
Authors report an average review time of about 15 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 Western Pacific Surveillance and Response?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 1,000 words; Reference style: Vancouver; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional, 2; 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 Western Pacific Surveillance and Response based?
Of the 22 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Philippines (13), Australia (3) and United States (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Western Pacific Surveillance and Response?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Western Pacific Surveillance and Response is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE and PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Western Pacific Surveillance and Response open access, and what is the APC?
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .