Editorial
I am pleased to announce the launch of Parasites & Vectors – a new open access journal
published by BioMed Central. The scope of Parasites & Vectors is wide, and encompasses
all aspects of the biology of parasites, parasitic disease, intermediate hosts and
vectors. Broader issues, such as economics, the social sciences and global climate
change in relation to disease and disease control, will also be included. Two previous
BioMed Central journals, Filaria Journal and Kinetoplastid Biology and Disease, are
now incorporated into Parasites & Vectors, and I hope that the communities that supported
these journals will also support this new venture.
Parasites & Vectors will be competing head-on with a number of existing subscription-based
journals. However, I firmly believe that there is a niche for the new journal. The
reason for this belief can be summarised in three words: 'online' and 'open access',
both areas in which BioMed Central has great experience and an excellent track record.
Parasites & Vectors is published exclusively online. Articles will follow a consistent
format so that the visual impact will be high and equal to that of the best hard-copy
publications. In contrast to paper-based journals, however, the electronic format
allows the full use of digital technologies and permits the inclusion of large data
sets, from field and laboratory studies, links to other web pages, animations, slide
shows, video clips and unlimited colour, all at no additional charge. Articles are
published online on the day of acceptance and, soon after, listed in PubMed. To ensure
permanency they are also archived in PubMed Central [1] and in digital repositories
in Germany [2], France [3] and The Netherlands [4]. Open access means that all articles
are freely available to all, worldwide, on the day of acceptance, and at no cost to
the reader. Authors retain copyright of their work and can grant anyone the right
to reproduce and disseminate it, provided that it is correctly cited and no errors
are introduced.
In hard-copy journals, the costs of publication are met by subscriptions, paid by
the reader. In Parasites & Vectors, as in other open access journals, these costs
are borne by the author in the form of article processing charges (APCs). Many grant-awarding
bodies recognise the value of open access publishing by allowing their funds to be
used for APCs [5]. Institutes which have full membership of BioMed Central bear the
cost of their author's publications [6], whilst a discount is available for institutions
with supporting membership. Authors from countries that are in the World Bank's low
income or lower-middle income categories may also have all their charges waived [7]
and other individual APC waiver requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
I shall make every effort to ensure that lack of funds does not impede my overall
objective of publishing the best science, irrespective of authorship or country of
origin.
I do not foresee that open access, online journals will totally replace the traditional
print format in the immediate future, although this may be an increasing trend with
time. I am certain, however, that the benefits of online publication, and the extra
opportunities that digital technologies give to authors, will be increasingly recognised.
Open access will transform the lives of scientists working in parts of the world where
library facilities are restricted. BioMed Central is working closely with the Institute
for Scientific Information to ensure that citation analysis of articles published
in Parasites & Vectors will be available as soon as possible.
I believe that Parasites & Vectors will rapidly attract high quality manuscripts.
Articles in Parasites & Vectors are peer-reviewed by at least two experts, drawn from
the Editorial Board and the wider parasitological community. With the assistance of
the Advisory and Editorial Boards [8] I shall ensure that the highest standards are
maintained with a fast processing of manuscripts and fair refereeing and editorial
decision-making. Of course, any new venture takes time to develop its own ethos and
character. However, I am confident that the new journal will have soon attracted sufficient
original research articles and reviews, to enable it to be judged a success.
For more information on Parasites & Vectors, its scope, refereeing policy and types
of articles considered, please click on the link 'About Parasites & Vectors' at the
top of this page. I look forward to receiving your manuscripts.