Lancet Infectious Diseases

About Lancet Infectious Diseases

About The Lancet Infectious Diseases

The Lancet Infectious Diseases is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Elsevier as part of The Lancet Group. Launched in August 2001, it is one of the world's leading journals devoted to infectious diseases, covering the full spectrum of infection-related science from microbiology and epidemiology to clinical practice and global health policy. The journal publishes original research, reviews, opinion pieces, and news relevant to clinicians, researchers, and public-health professionals worldwide.

The journal is recognised as the top-ranked journal in the infectious diseases category of the 2025 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, released 2026), placing first among 141 journals, and third among 361 infectious diseases journals in Scopus. With a 2024 Journal Impact Factor of 36.4, it sits among the most cited clinical journals in medicine. Its print ISSN is 1473-3099 and its electronic ISSN is 1474-4457 (ISSN-L 1473-3099, registered in the ISSN Portal).

History and Development

The Lancet Infectious Diseases was launched in August 2001 as a specialty spin-off from The Lancet, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious general medical journals. The launch reflected the growing recognition, at the turn of the millennium, that infectious diseases demanded a dedicated, high-profile publishing venue: HIV/AIDS remained a global emergency, tuberculosis and malaria killed millions each year, antimicrobial resistance was accelerating, and new threats — from SARS to avian influenza — were emerging with unsettling frequency.

In its early years the journal built its reputation on authoritative reviews and carefully selected original research, combined with the news and commentary format characteristic of the Lancet family. It quickly became a venue where major outbreak investigations, vaccine trial results, and policy-shaping analyses appeared. During the 2003 SARS outbreak, the journal provided a platform for rapid dissemination of clinical and epidemiological findings from affected regions.

The journal's influence grew markedly in the 2010s. It published the first report of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance (the mcr-1 gene) in 2016 — a finding with profound implications for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections — and the World Health Organization's priority list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria for research and development in 2018. These papers became among the most cited in infectious-diseases literature.

The COVID-19 pandemic marked the journal's most intense period. In early 2020 it published some of the earliest and most influential COVID-19 papers, including the interactive real-time tracking dashboard by Dong and colleagues and model-based estimates of disease severity by Verity and colleagues. Its fast-track publication service, which can bring urgent papers to publication within 10 weeks of submission, proved vital as clinicians and policymakers sought reliable evidence at unprecedented speed. The journal's impact factor surged during this period, reflecting the extraordinary citation activity around COVID-19 research, before settling at its current high level.

Today, The Lancet Infectious Diseases continues as a monthly journal balancing original research with the Series and Commissions — in-depth, multi-paper explorations of major topics — that aim to shape clinical practice and health policy. Under Editor-in-Chief Ursula Hofer, who took the helm in 2022, the journal has emphasised emerging and re-emerging pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, and the effects of social and economic inequality on infectious disease burden.

Aims and Scope

According to its official aims, The Lancet Infectious Diseases publishes original research that has the potential to change or illuminate infectious-disease clinical practice, alongside informative reviews on any topic connected with infectious diseases and human health. The editors give preference to work likely to influence clinical practice or thinking.

Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

• Anti-infective therapy and immunisation, including vaccines and therapeutics
• Bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections
• Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases
• HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other mycobacterial infections
• Infection prevention and control in healthcare and community settings
• Infectious-diseases epidemiology and outbreak investigation
• Neglected tropical diseases and travel medicine

The journal publishes a wide range of article types: original Articles, Reviews, Historical Reviews, Personal Views, Clinical Pictures, Newsdesk items, Comments, and Correspondence. It also commissions Series and Commissions — substantial multi-author projects designed to drive positive change in clinical practice and health policy in areas of need.

While much of its content addresses clinical and public-health audiences, the journal also publishes fundamental work with clear translational relevance, such as studies of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms that carry immediate clinical implications.

Editorial Leadership

Ursula Hofer has been Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Infectious Diseases since 2022. A medically qualified editor, she holds a medical degree from the University of Bern and a PhD in infection biology from the University of Zurich, and previously practised internal medicine and clinical immunology in Swiss hospitals before a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Southern California. Before joining The Lancet Group she spent almost a decade at Springer Nature, including as Chief Editor of Nature Reviews Microbiology, as part of the launch team of Nature Reviews Disease Primers, and as a Senior Editor at Nature handling COVID-19 papers.

She is supported by Marco De Ambrogi, Deputy Editor, a veterinarian by training with a PhD in endocrinology from the University of Bologna, who joined Elsevier as Senior Editor for the journal in 2014 after editorial roles at BioMed Central and Future Medicine. His interests include parasitology, zoonoses, tropical medicine, and global health.

The senior editorial team also includes Syeda Saleha Hassan, Senior Editor, whose background is in tuberculosis immunology (PhD from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), with interests spanning tuberculosis, therapeutics, emerging zoonotic infections, global health equity, antimicrobial resistance, and research from low- and middle-income countries; and Phoebe Hall, Senior Editor since 2019, whose interests cover diagnostics, therapeutics, and public health.

The journal is advised by an International Advisory Board of key opinion leaders and researchers from around the world, who provide subject, academic, and geographical advice on an ad hoc basis. Board members have no formal role in content selection or peer review. The Lancet journals are signatories of the ICMJE Recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in medical journals and follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) code of conduct for editors. The Editor-in-Chief is the final arbitrator of all editorial decisions, including whether a paper proceeds to peer review and whether it is published or rejected.

Journal Metrics

The Lancet Infectious Diseases is among the highest-impact journals in clinical medicine. Key metrics, with sources and years, are:

• Journal rank: 1st of 141 journals in the Infectious Diseases category, 2025 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, released 2026) — official figure published by The Lancet Group. Also ranked 3rd of 361 infectious-diseases journals in Scopus.
• Journal Impact Factor: 36.4 for 2024 (2025 JCR, via journalimpact.org). The factor rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic — reaching 56.3 for 2023 — before moderating, a pattern seen across leading infectious-diseases journals.
• SCImago indicators: SJR 5.446 and SCImago H-index 304 (research.com, 2026 journal profile).
• OpenAlex H-index: 376, with 10,931 works and 668,803 citations recorded (OpenAlex source record, retrieved October 2026). Note that OpenAlex metrics are calculated differently from the Clarivate Journal Impact Factor and SCImago metrics.
• Circulation and reach: global print circulation of 10,100 and an average of 153,474 monthly website visits (September 2024–August 2025, per Elsevier media data).

Metrics should always be interpreted in context: impact factors reflect average citation rates and vary by field and over time, and the journal itself notes that the Impact Factor and CiteScore are only two measures of a journal's performance.

Open Access and Article Processing Charges

The Lancet Infectious Diseases is a hybrid journal. It offers authors of original research whose funding requires open-access publication a choice between gold open access and a subscription-based green open-access route. Open-access publication in the journal's hybrid model is available to authors whose research is funded by specific funders; authors should check eligibility with the publisher before submission.

OpenAlex, drawing on DOAJ-listed price data, reports the following open-access list prices for the journal: USD 7,280; EUR 6,810; GBP 5,830; and JPY 902,940. These are list prices only — not a fee quotation — and authors should confirm current charges, taxes, waivers, and eligibility directly with Elsevier, as fees and policies can change.

The journal also operates a fast-track publication service for papers of immediate public-health or clinical importance: when requested at submission, eligible original research articles are assessed by the editorial team and, if accepted, published within 10 weeks of submission, while still undergoing the journal's usual rigorous external and statistical peer review.

Abstracting and Indexing

The Lancet Infectious Diseases is indexed in the following abstracting and indexing services (per the journal's official about page):

• CAB Direct
• Chemical Abstracts
• Crossref
• Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)
• Current Contents – Clinical Medicine
• Embase
• Essential Science Indicators
• MEDLINE
• PubMed
• Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)
• Scopus

Landmark Papers

The following highly cited papers, all published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases with DOIs verified through Crossref (citation counts from Crossref, October 2026), illustrate the journal's influence:

• Dong E, Du H, Gardner L. An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20(5):533-534. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30120-1 — Describing the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard that became the world's reference tracker for the pandemic; cited over 8,400 times.
• Tacconelli E, Carrara E, Savoldi A, et al. Discovery, research, and development of new antibiotics: the WHO priority list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and tuberculosis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2018;18(3):318-327. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30753-3 — The WHO's landmark priority-pathogens list that has guided global antibiotic R&D; cited over 5,600 times.
• Liu Y-Y, Wang Y, Walsh TR, et al. Emergence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance mechanism MCR-1 in animals and human beings in China: a microbiological and molecular biological study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2016;16(2):161-168. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00424-7 — First report of the transferable mcr-1 colistin-resistance gene, reshaping stewardship of last-resort antibiotics; cited over 4,800 times.
• Verity R, Okell LC, Dorigatti I, et al. Estimates of the severity of coronavirus disease 2019: a model-based analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20(6):669-677. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30243-7 — Early model-based estimates of COVID-19 severity that informed global policy responses; cited nearly 3,000 times.

Publishing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases

The Lancet Infectious Diseases is highly selective. It seeks original research likely to change clinical practice or thinking, and informative reviews on topics connected with infectious diseases and human health. Authors considering submission should note the following:

• Scope fit: Manuscripts must address infectious diseases and human health with a clear message for clinical practice, public health, or policy. Papers of purely specialist technical interest without clinical implications are less likely to be taken forward.
• Article types: The journal accepts original Articles and Reviews, as well as Historical Reviews, Personal Views, Clinical Pictures, Comments, and Correspondence. Series and Commissions are normally by invitation.
• Submission: Manuscripts are submitted through the journal's online editorial system via the official journal website at thelancet.com. Authors should consult the current "Information for Authors" for formatting, word limits, and reference requirements.
• Peer review: All research articles undergo rigorous external peer review, including statistical review where appropriate, followed by detailed technical copy-editing.
• Speed: For papers of immediate public-health or clinical importance, fast-track assessment is available on request at submission, with eligible papers published within 10 weeks.
• Ethics: The journal follows ICMJE recommendations and COPE guidelines; editors are barred from submitting research articles to Lancet journals and must recuse themselves from decisions involving conflicts of interest.

Because of the journal's selectivity, authors are advised to submit only their strongest, most significant work, and to frame the manuscript around its implications for practice or policy.

Series, Commissions, and Global Reach

Beyond standard research articles, The Lancet Infectious Diseases is known for its Series and Commissions — ambitious multi-paper projects that survey a major topic in depth and aim to drive positive change in clinical practice and health policy. These commissioned collections bring together leading experts to map the state of knowledge, identify gaps, and issue actionable recommendations, and they are among the journal's most widely read and cited content.

The journal's audience is genuinely global. The Lancet Group reports 4.4 million alert subscribers across its programmes, some 298,000 annual media mentions of Lancet research, 15,500 webinar views reaching audiences in 143 countries, and 19,000 monthly podcast listens. This visibility means that important findings published in the journal frequently reach not only researchers and clinicians but also policymakers, industry professionals, and the wider public — amplifying their real-world impact.

The journal also publishes themed issues and country-focused content highlighting regional challenges in infectious-disease control, supporting its stated commitment to addressing the global burden of infection, including in low- and middle-income countries where that burden is heaviest.

The Lancet Family Context

The Lancet Infectious Diseases belongs to The Lancet family of specialty journals, headed by The Lancet itself (founded in 1823). The family shares common editorial standards — including adherence to ICMJE recommendations and COPE guidelines — and a distinctive publishing model that combines original research with news, commentary, and commissioned analysis. Being part of this family gives the journal access to a large, engaged clinical readership and a powerful media and communications operation, while its specialist focus allows deeper coverage of infection science than a general medical journal can provide.

Readership and Influence on Policy

The journal's readership includes infectious-disease specialists, clinical microbiologists, epidemiologists, immunologists, public-health officials, and policymakers. Its articles frequently inform clinical guidelines and public-health strategies: during the COVID-19 pandemic, papers on disease severity, transmission dynamics, and vaccine performance published in the journal were cited in national and international response planning. The journal's Newsdesk and Comment sections provide rapid expert interpretation of unfolding events, making it a first port of call for professionals who need reliable, peer-reviewed perspective on outbreaks and emerging threats. For researchers, publishing here offers exceptional visibility — with over 668,000 citations recorded to its articles in OpenAlex and regular coverage in the global media.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ISSN of The Lancet Infectious Diseases?
Print ISSN 1473-3099; electronic ISSN 1474-4457 (ISSN-L 1473-3099).

Who publishes The Lancet Infectious Diseases?
Elsevier, as part of The Lancet Group (London, UK).

Who is the Editor-in-Chief?
Ursula Hofer, Editor-in-Chief since 2022; Marco De Ambrogi is Deputy Editor.

What is the journal's impact factor?
36.4 for 2024 (2025 Journal Citation Reports). The journal ranks first among 141 infectious-diseases journals in the 2025 JCR. It also ranks third of 361 infectious-diseases journals in Scopus.

Is The Lancet Infectious Diseases open access?
It is a hybrid journal: gold open access is available for authors whose funding requires it, alongside a green open-access option. Reported OA list prices include USD 7,280 — confirm current fees with the publisher.

Where is the journal indexed?
MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded, Embase, CINAHL, and others (see indexing list above).

How fast is publication?
A fast-track service can publish eligible urgent papers within 10 weeks of submission, subject to full peer review.

When was the journal founded?
It was originally launched in August 2001.

Does the journal still publish COVID-19 research?
Yes — alongside its broader infectious-diseases coverage. Its most cited papers include early-pandemic COVID-19 studies, and it continues to publish research on SARS-CoV-2, post-COVID conditions, and pandemic preparedness.

What article types does The Lancet Infectious Diseases publish?
Original research Articles, Reviews, Historical Reviews, Personal Views, Clinical Pictures, Newsdesk reports, Comments, and Correspondence — plus commissioned Series and Commissions that explore major topics in depth and aim to shape clinical practice and health policy.

Is there an appeals process for rejected manuscripts?
Yes. Authors who wish to question an editorial decision should first contact the editorial team; if still dissatisfied, they may approach the journal's Ombudsperson, who records and where required investigates allegations of editorial maladministration. The Ombudsperson's remit covers process, not editorial content or policy judgments.