The Lancet Infectious Diseases

About The Lancet Infectious Diseases

The Lancet Infectious Diseases: Journal Overview

The Lancet Infectious Diseases is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by The Lancet Group (part of Elsevier), based in London, United Kingdom. It describes itself on its official website as "the world-leading infectious diseases journal," dedicated to original research and review on every topic connected with infectious diseases and human health. Its editorial preference is to publish articles likely to influence clinical practice or thinking — a standard it applies to everything from clinical trials and epidemiological studies to historical reviews and opinion pieces (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

The journal's standing is reflected in its citation metrics. According to the metrics section of its official homepage, The Lancet Infectious Diseases has a Journal Impact Factor of 29.4 (Journal Citation Reports 2025, Clarivate), a 5-year Impact Factor of 26, and a CiteScore of 39.2 (2025, Elsevier). Its about page states that it ranks first among 141 infectious diseases journals in the 2025 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate 2026) and third among 361 infectious diseases journals in Scopus — while noting, to its credit, that the Impact Factor and CiteScore are "just two measures of a journal's performance" (sources: thelancet.com/journals/laninf/home; thelancet.com/laninf/about, accessed October 2026).

The journal is a hybrid publication: it remains primarily subscription-based but offers authors of funded research either a gold open access route (for an article processing charge) or a green open access option, with open access in the hybrid Lancet journals limited to authors whose research is funded by specific funders (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about). Its content reaches a substantial audience: The Lancet Group reports 4.4 million alert subscribers across its journals, 298,000 annual media mentions, and 19,000 monthly podcast listens, figures the journal cites in support of the visibility authors' work receives (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

History of The Lancet Infectious Diseases

The Lancet Infectious Diseases was created in 2001 by its founding Editor-in-Chief, John McConnell, and published its first issue in August 2001 (source: EASE obituary, ease.org.uk; the journal's 25th-anniversary editorial, thelancet.com, August 2026). McConnell had joined The Lancet in 1990 as a peer review editor, became the first editor of the journal's website in 1996, and then launched The Lancet Infectious Diseases at a time when infectious diseases were gaining renewed prominence — before SARS, the 2009 influenza pandemic, Ebola, and COVID-19 would repeatedly prove the journal's relevance. The anniversary editorial describes his vision as "a journal for specialists in infectious diseases that could inform public health decisions and clinical practice," noting that his conviction that an infectious cause could be found at the root of most medical problems shaped the journal's growth from "an initial collection of reviews to the multifaceted publication it is now" (source: thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(26)00372-5/abstract).

McConnell led the journal for two decades. He had a degree in clinical microbiology and parasitology from the University of East London (1982) and spent six years researching septic-shock-related topics at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London. He was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 2011 and was a frequent expert commentator on infectious diseases for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News, Al Jazeera, CNN, and other outlets. He died in February 2022, and was remembered by the European Association of Science Editors as "a truly wonderful editor, very dedicated and passionate for his field and hugely respected by his community of authors and researchers," noting that during the pandemic "he and his team moved mountains by providing guidance both internally and externally to deal with the enormous increase in submissions" (sources: EASE obituary, ease.org.uk, March 2022; Elsevier Researcher Academy profile).

In August 2026, the journal marked its 25th anniversary with a special anniversary issue — a quarter-century after that first 2001 issue. Over that period the journal has published landmark work across the field's defining episodes: HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, influenza pandemics, Ebola, COVID-19, mpox, and emerging pathogens. Its current issue in 2026 covers cluster-randomised trials on antimicrobial stewardship in Burkina Faso and DR Congo, systematic reviews of Nipah virus epidemiology, and scoping reviews of genomic sequencing for WHO priority viruses in Africa — reflecting the journal's continuing mix of clinical research, public health, and global health coverage (source: thelancet.com/journals/laninf/home).

Leadership and Editorial Team

The current Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Infectious Diseases is Dr. Ursula Hofer, who joined the journal in 2022 following John McConnell's death. Her profile on the journal's official about page describes a medical and scientific background closely aligned with the journal's field: she received a medical degree from the University of Bern (Switzerland) and a PhD in infection biology from the University of Zurich (Switzerland), practised internal medicine and clinical immunology in several Swiss hospitals, and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California (USA). Before joining The Lancet, she worked for almost ten years at Springer Nature — including as Chief Editor of Nature Reviews Microbiology, part of the launch team of Nature Reviews Disease Primers, and as Senior Editor at Nature handling COVID-19 papers. She is also Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto (Canada). In her own words on the journal's about page, she is "keen to focus more on the increasing challenges infectious diseases pose due to emerging and re-emerging pathogens, antimicrobial resistance and the impacts of societal and economic inequalities in a changing world" (sources: thelancet.com/laninf/about; Elsevier Researcher Academy profile).

The editorial team, as listed on the journal's official about page, is:

• Ursula Hofer — Editor-in-Chief. Final authority on all editorial decisions: which papers go to peer review, accept/reject decisions in light of reviewers' remarks, scope and commissioning, appeals, and editorial priorities.
• Marco De Ambrogi — Deputy Editor. Studied veterinary medicine at the University of Parma and completed a PhD in endocrinology at the University of Bologna, followed by postdoctoral work at the Royal Veterinary College in London. He joined Elsevier as Senior Editor for The Lancet Infectious Diseases in 2014; his interests are parasitology, zoonoses, tropical medicine, and global health.
• Syeda Saleha Hassan — Senior Editor. Studied biochemistry at King's College London and earned a PhD in tuberculosis immunology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, with postdoctoral work at Cambridge and Queen Mary University of London. She became a permanent Senior Editor at the journal in August 2023; her interests include tuberculosis, therapeutics, emerging zoonotic infections, global health equity, and antimicrobial resistance.
• Phoebe Hall — Senior Editor. Studied biology at the University of Exeter; joined The Lancet Group in 2016 and became Senior Editor at the journal in 2019; her interests are diagnostics, therapeutics, and public health.

All editors are affiliated with The Lancet Group in London, UK (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

The journal also maintains an International Advisory Board of key opinion leaders and researchers from around the world. Its role is strictly advisory: the about page states that the board offers the journal subject, academic, and geographical advice on an ad hoc basis, but "have no formal involvement in content selection or in any part of the peer review process, nor do they have editorial oversight of any section of the journal." Submissions authored by board members are handled solely by the journal's editors through standard peer review processes (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

Aims & Scope

According to the journal's official about page, The Lancet Infectious Diseases publishes "original research that advocates change in or illuminates infectious disease clinical practice and informative reviews on any topic connected with infectious diseases and human health." The editors' stated preference is to publish "articles likely to influence clinical practice or thinking." Because the journal serves an international readership from a wide range of specialties, its Information for Authors stresses that articles must be written clearly and not assume specialist knowledge beyond that of a reasonably well-read doctor in training (sources: thelancet.com/laninf/about; tlid-info-for-authors.pdf, August 2026).

Topics covered include, but are not limited to: anti-infective therapy and immunisation; bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections; emerging infectious diseases; HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis and mycobacterial infections; infection control; infectious diseases epidemiology; neglected tropical diseases; and travel medicine (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

The journal publishes a range of article types encompassing all aspects of infectious diseases and medicine: Articles (original research), Review, Historical Review, Personal View, Clinical Picture, Newsdesk, Comment, and Correspondence. It also publishes Series and Commissions that aim to shape and drive positive change in clinical practice and health policy in areas of need in infectious diseases (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about). A companion podcast, The Lancet Infectious Diseases in conversation with, features monthly conversations between the senior editors and the journal's authors about their latest research (source: thelancet.com/multimedia).

Editorial Process and Peer Review

The Lancet Infectious Diseases follows the editorial standards of The Lancet Group. The journals are signatories of the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals and of the COPE code of conduct for editors, and follow COPE guidelines (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

How manuscripts are handled:

1. Submission. Manuscripts are submitted online through the journal's Editorial Manager site (editorialmanager.com/thelancetid); submission is free. A first submission should include a covering letter (uploaded at the "Enter Comments" stage, explaining why the paper should be published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases rather than elsewhere), the manuscript with tables and panels, figures, a signed author statement form, and declarations of interests and funding sources. For randomised trials, protocols and CONSORT details are required. All primary research Articles must include a "Research in context" panel (Evidence before this study / Added value of this study / Implications of all the available evidence) and a data sharing statement (source: tlid-info-for-authors.pdf).
2. Initial editorial assessment. The Editor-in-Chief is the final arbitrator of all decisions — including the decision to take a paper to peer review and the decision to publish or reject in light of reviewers' remarks. All original research judged eligible for fast-track publication is peer-reviewed within 3–5 days (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about; tlid-info-for-authors.pdf).
3. External and statistical peer review. Eligible papers are subjected to what the journal describes as "The Lancet's usual rigorous standards of external and statistical peer review." The journal acknowledges its reviewer community annually: 876 people from 82 countries peer-reviewed for the journal in 2025 (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about; the journal's 2025 peer-review acknowledgment).
4. Publication. Accepted fast-track papers are published within 10 weeks of submission, with most accepted fast-track Articles appearing online first before the print issue. All accepted Articles include a link to the full study protocol on the authors' institutional website (source: tlid-info-for-authors.pdf).

Fast-track publication. Fast-track publication is available on papers of immediate public health or clinical importance, or where timed publication has been agreed. Authors can request fast-track consideration in the covering letter (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about; tlid-info-for-authors.pdf).

Safeguards and conflicts. The Lancet Group does not permit editors to submit research articles to Lancet journals, and all editors must exclude themselves from decisions on papers in which they are authors, papers by family members or colleagues, or papers concerning institutions, products, or services in which the editor has a vested interest. Editorial decisions can be appealed; the first step is to contact the editorial team, and if the author is not satisfied, the journal's Ombudsperson can record and investigate allegations of editorial maladministration (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

Metrics

The following metrics are published by the journal itself on its official pages (accessed October 2026). Years refer to the metric year as displayed by the journal.

The journal's about page includes an explicit caveat that the Journal Impact Factor and CiteScore are "just two measures of a journal's performance" — a nod to the responsible-metrics movement. The Lancet Group also reports group-wide reach figures the journal cites: 4.4 million alert subscribers, 298,000 annual media mentions, 15,500 webinar views across 143 countries, and 19,000 monthly podcast listens (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

Acceptance rate: not publicly disclosed by the journal — third-party directories publish estimates (e.g., around 5–7%), but these are not official figures and should not be cited as such. Readers should not rely on any acceptance-rate number that the journal itself has not published.

Submission Guidelines

Detailed instructions appear in the journal's official Information for Authors (tlid-info-for-authors.pdf, August 2026 edition). Key points:

• Submission portal: Manuscripts are submitted online via the Editorial Manager site at editorialmanager.com/thelancetid. Submission is free of charge.
• Covering letter: Upload at the "Enter Comments" stage; explain why the paper should be published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases rather than elsewhere, and state if fast-track consideration is desired. If you have a finished manuscript, the journal says you should simply submit it rather than enquiring first whether it is likely to be accepted.
• Article format: All Articles should be up to 3,500 words (4,500 for randomised controlled trials) with up to 30 references — the word count is for the manuscript text only. Qualitative and mixed-methods research articles can be up to 4,500 words. Include a semistructured abstract (Background, Methods, Findings, Interpretation, Funding) not exceeding 250 words.
• Clinical trials: All interventional trials must be registered in a primary register in WHO's ICTRP or ClinicalTrials.gov before recruitment of the first participant; reports must conform to CONSORT 2025 and be submitted with the full protocol and statistical analysis plan.
• Research in context panel: Required for all primary research Articles and systematic reviews/meta-analyses (Evidence before this study; Added value of this study; Implications of all the available evidence). Editors use this information at first assessment, and peer reviewers check its accuracy.
• Data sharing: All submitted research Articles must contain a data sharing statement at the end of the manuscript.
• Reviews: May be commissioned or submitted unsolicited; for unsolicited reviews, send the editor a one-page outline first. Reviews must include a "Search strategy and selection criteria" section.
• Comment: Up to 750 words, up to ten references. Correspondence: Letters must reach the journal within 8 weeks of the online publication date of the original item and be no longer than 400 words; only one table or figure and no more than five references and five authors.
• Originality: Manuscripts must be solely the work of the stated authors, must not have been previously published elsewhere, and must not be under consideration by another journal.

Open Access and APC

The Lancet Infectious Diseases is a hybrid journal: it offers authors of original research whose funding requires open access publication either a gold open access solution or a subscription green open access solution. Open access publication in the hybrid Lancet journals is available only for authors whose research is funded by specific funders (listed on the Lancet open access page, including major funders such as Wellcome, UKRI, NIH, ERC, MSF, and others) (sources: thelancet.com/laninf/about; thelancet.com/open-access).

APC: The official Lancet open access page lists the article processing charge for The Lancet Infectious Diseases as USD 8,810 (as of January 1, 2026). For comparison, The Lancet itself is USD 9,550 and other Lancet specialty journals range from USD 8,010 to 8,810 (source: thelancet.com/open-access). APCs change over time — prospective authors should verify the current figure on the official open access page before relying on it.

Licence options: For gold open access, authors are offered a choice of Creative Commons licences — CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND, or CC BY-NC — and should check with their funder whether a specific licence is preferred. The APC is payable upon acceptance for all full-length peer-reviewed article types (source: tlid-info-for-authors.pdf). The Lancet states that ability to pay should never be a barrier to publication and describes options to support publishing regardless of ability to pay, plus agreements with funding bodies (source: thelancet.com/open-access).

Green open access: Authors choosing the green route can deposit the accepted manuscript with an embargo period as specified in the journal's open access policy. Corresponding authors also receive a customised Share Link providing 50 days' free access to the published version for sharing via any communication channel (source: tlid-info-for-authors.pdf).

Indexing and Visibility

The Lancet Infectious Diseases is indexed by CAB Direct, Chemical Abstracts, Crossref, CINAHL, Current Contents — Clinical Medicine, Embase, Essential Science Indicators, MEDLINE, PubMed, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), and Scopus (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about). According to Elsevier's advertising media kit for the journal (elsmediakits.com, an official Elsevier site), the journal has a global print circulation of 10,100, an average of 153,474 global monthly visits (98,219 unique visitors, 246,848 page views), and eTOC distribution of 144,516 — figures updated September 2025 based on the September 2024–August 2025 period (source: elsmediakits.com/specialty-audiences/infectious-diseases/lancet-infectious-diseases/laninf/2026).

Key Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Lancet Infectious Diseases?

It is a monthly peer-reviewed journal published by The Lancet Group (Elsevier) covering all topics connected with infectious diseases and human health. It describes itself as "the world-leading infectious diseases journal" and ranks first among 141 infectious diseases journals in the 2025 Journal Citation Reports (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

When was The Lancet Infectious Diseases founded?

The journal was created in 2001 by founding Editor-in-Chief John McConnell, and its first issue was published in August 2001. It marked its 25th anniversary in August 2026 (sources: EASE obituary; the journal's 25th-anniversary editorial, thelancet.com).

Who is the current Editor-in-Chief?

Dr. Ursula Hofer, who joined as Editor-in-Chief in 2022. She holds a medical degree from the University of Bern and a PhD in infection biology from the University of Zurich, and previously worked at Springer Nature (Chief Editor of Nature Reviews Microbiology; Senior Editor at Nature) after practising internal medicine and clinical immunology in Swiss hospitals (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

What is the journal's impact factor?

According to the journal's official homepage, the Journal Impact Factor is 29.4 (Journal Citation Reports 2025, Clarivate), with a 5-year Impact Factor of 26 and a CiteScore of 39.2 (2025). It ranks 1st of 141 infectious diseases journals in the JCR and 3rd of 361 in Scopus (sources: thelancet.com/journals/laninf/home; thelancet.com/laninf/about).

What topics does the journal cover?

Anti-infective therapy and immunisation; bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections; emerging infectious diseases; HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis/mycobacterial infections; infection control; infectious diseases epidemiology; neglected tropical diseases; and travel medicine (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

How does peer review work at The Lancet Infectious Diseases?

Papers undergo internal editorial assessment followed by external and statistical peer review. The Editor-in-Chief is the final arbitrator of all decisions. The International Advisory Board has no formal role in peer review or content selection. In 2025, 876 reviewers from 82 countries peer-reviewed for the journal (sources: thelancet.com/laninf/about; the journal's reviewer acknowledgment).

What is the acceptance rate?

The journal does not publicly disclose an acceptance rate. Estimates published by third-party directories (e.g., around 5–7%) are not official figures and should not be treated as such.

Does the journal offer fast-track publication?

Yes. Fast-track publication is available on papers of immediate public health or clinical importance, or where timed publication has been agreed. All original research judged eligible for fast-track is peer-reviewed within 3–5 days and, if accepted, published within 10 weeks of submission (sources: thelancet.com/laninf/about; tlid-info-for-authors.pdf).

How do I submit a manuscript?

Submissions are free and made online through the journal's Editorial Manager site (editorialmanager.com/thelancetid). Include a covering letter (uploaded at the "Enter Comments" stage), the manuscript with tables/panels, figures, a signed author statement form, and declarations of interests and funding (source: tlid-info-for-authors.pdf).

What are the length limits?

Articles should be up to 3,500 words (4,500 for randomised controlled trials) with up to 30 references; the word count covers the manuscript text only. Comments are up to 750 words with up to ten references; Correspondence letters up to 400 words (source: tlid-info-for-authors.pdf).

Is The Lancet Infectious Diseases open access? What is the APC?

It is a hybrid journal. Authors of original research whose funding requires open access can choose gold open access or green open access. The official Lancet open access page lists the APC for The Lancet Infectious Diseases as USD 8,810 as of January 1, 2026 — but APCs change, so verify the current figure on thelancet.com/open-access before relying on it (source: thelancet.com/open-access).

Where is the journal indexed?

MEDLINE/PubMed, Science Citation Index Expanded, Scopus, Embase, CINAHL, CAB Direct, Chemical Abstracts, Crossref, Current Contents — Clinical Medicine, and Essential Science Indicators (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

What are the journal's ISSN and publication frequency?

ISSN 1473-3099; published monthly by The Lancet Group (Elsevier) in London, UK (sources: thelancet.com/journals/laninf/home; elsmediakits.com).

Can I appeal an editorial decision?

Yes. The first step is to contact the editorial team; if you are not satisfied with the response, the journal's Ombudsperson can record and, when required, investigate allegations of editorial maladministration (source: thelancet.com/laninf/about).

Profile compiled October 2026 from official The Lancet, Lancet Group, and Elsevier sources listed below. Metrics, APCs, and policies change over time — always verify current figures on the journal's official pages before citing or acting on them.