International Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Aims and scope
International Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases publishes rigorous, peer-reviewed research on the clinical, epidemiological, and public health dimensions of sexually transmitted infections, with emphasis on pathogen biology, diagnostic innovation, treatment optimization, and prevention strategies.
Publisher Open Access Pub ISSN (electronic) 2994-6743 Crossref DOI prefix 10.14302 Access Open access, CC BY 4.0
01 · The scope
What IJSTD publishes
The journal is scoped to the infection, not to a method or a discipline. A manuscript belongs here when its central scientific contribution concerns a sexually transmitted pathogen, or the laboratory, clinical, epidemiological or preventive response to one.
That covers work on bacterial, viral and parasitic agents — among them HIV, human papillomavirus, herpes simplex virus, Treponema pallidum, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium and the protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis, and sexually transmissible hepatitis — together with the assays that detect them, the regimens that treat them, the surveillance that counts them, and the programs that prevent them.
Laboratory, clinical, epidemiological and public-health contributions are read as one field rather than as separate ones. A resistance mechanism, the assay that detects it, the regimen it defeats and the surveillance that reveals its spread are four accounts of the same problem, and the journal considers all four.
The term sexually transmitted infection (STI) includes infection without symptoms as well as disease and its complications. HIV research fits when its central question concerns sexual transmission, prevention, interaction with other STIs or sexual-health care; co-infection with another STI is not required.
General infectious-disease research without a substantive STI-related contribution is outside the journal’s scope.
02 · Core domains
Core research domains
These four domains are the journal’s priority focus. Work that sits between two of them is welcome and is not treated as a lesser fit.
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01
Pathogen biology and molecular mechanisms
- Viral pathogenesis in HPV, HSV and sexually transmissible hepatitis B and C; HIV mechanisms relevant to sexual transmission, prevention or STI interactions
- Bacterial virulence factors in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Treponema pallidum, Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium
- Parasitic STI biology and host interactions, including Trichomonas vaginalis
- Host-pathogen interactions and immune evasion
- Antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in STI pathogens, including drug-resistant gonorrhea and Mycoplasma genitalium
- Genomic epidemiology and strain evolution
- Molecular diagnostics and biomarker discovery
A clear fit
Whole-genome sequencing reveals novel ceftriaxone resistance mutations in Neisseria gonorrhoeae clinical isolates from urban sexual health clinics
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02
Clinical management and therapeutics
- Randomized controlled trials of STI treatment regimens
- Comparative effectiveness of antimicrobial therapies
- Management of drug-resistant infections
- Treatment of co-infections and complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease and epididymitis
- Point-of-care treatment strategies
- Adverse event monitoring and pharmacovigilance
A clear fit
Single-dose gentamicin plus azithromycin versus ceftriaxone-based therapy for uncomplicated gonorrhea: a multicenter non-inferiority trial
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03
Epidemiology and public health surveillance
- Incidence and prevalence studies in defined populations
- Transmission dynamics and network analysis
- Surveillance system evaluation and enhancement
- Geographic and temporal trend analysis
- Risk factor identification and stratification
- Health disparities in STI burden
A clear fit
Spatial clustering of syphilis cases among men who have sex with men in metropolitan areas: a 5-year surveillance analysis using molecular typing
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04
Prevention and vaccine development
- Vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy trials, including HPV and hepatitis B
- HIV pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis; doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis research for bacterial STIs, including effectiveness, safety and antimicrobial resistance
- Behavioral intervention effectiveness
- Screening program evaluation and optimization, including self-sampling and home-based testing
- Partner notification and contact tracing strategies
- Prophylactic technologies, including microbicides and barrier methods
A clear fit
Cost-effectiveness of annual chlamydia screening in sexually active women aged 16-24: a decision-analytic model using real-world clinic data
03 · Cross-disciplinary
Secondary and cross-disciplinary areas
These areas are considered alongside the core domains when the central contribution concerns STI transmission, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, care or service access. Methods and evaluation should suit the research question; biological or patient-outcome measurements are not required for every study.
- Diagnostic innovation
- Diagnostic platforms including nucleic acid amplification testing, point-of-care testing and multiplex assays; validation studies, diagnostic accuracy meta-analyses, and implementation science for new testing technologies.
- Digital health and AI applications
- Machine learning for risk prediction, AI-enhanced diagnostic algorithms, telemedicine for STI care, mobile health interventions, and electronic partner notification.
- Behavioral and social determinants
- Quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research on STI-related behavior, stigma, testing decisions, treatment adherence, partner services, healthcare access and transmission networks. A clear contribution to STI prevention or care is required; an infection endpoint is not a universal requirement.
- Populations with specific needs
- STI research in pregnancy, in adolescents, in older adults, in people who are immunocompromised, in people who are incarcerated, and in sex workers, with a focus on STI prevention, care, access, experience and outcomes.
- Co-infections and complications
- Interactions between HIV and other STIs, reproductive complications, congenital and perinatal infection, syndemic approaches, and long-term sequelae including infertility, chronic pain and STI-associated cancer.
- Health systems and policy
- STI-specific implementation research, service delivery, cost-effectiveness, policy evaluation and quality improvement. Contributions may concern testing uptake, acceptability, feasibility, access, equity or clinical outcomes, according to the study question.
04 · Emerging
Emerging areas under selective consideration
These areas are considered when their STI-specific contribution is clear and the methods support the claims. Exploratory and methodological research may fit with appropriate evaluation and transparent limitations; clinical deployment or patient-outcome evidence is not required for every study.
- Microbiome research
- Vaginal and urethral microbiome composition in relation to STI susceptibility, treatment response or recurrence, supported by methods appropriate to the STI-specific question.
- Pharmacogenomics
- Genetic determinants of treatment response or adverse events in STI therapy, with evaluation appropriate to the study stage and a clear STI-related interpretation.
- Novel therapeutics
- Early-phase trials of experimental drugs, immunotherapies or biologics for STI treatment, at phase I or II, with a clear mechanistic rationale.
- Emerging infections and transmission patterns
- Infections acquired through sexual contact or spreading in sexual networks, including mpox, and re-emerging STIs such as lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). Outbreak, transmission-route and resistance studies should make their STI or sexual-health relevance explicit; mpox can also spread through non-sexual contact.
05 · The boundary
Where work from an adjacent field fits
Much of the strongest research on sexually transmitted infection is done by people who would not describe themselves as STI researchers. The journal welcomes it. The condition is the same in every case: the manuscript’s central scientific contribution has to concern a sexually transmitted pathogen or the response to one, rather than mention it in passing.
- Microbiology
- In scope when the organism studied is a sexually transmitted pathogen. General bacteriology, virology or culture methodology without such an organism is not.
- Antimicrobial resistance
- In scope when the resistance concerns an STI pathogen, including resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Mycoplasma genitalium. General stewardship or hospital-acquired resistance without a substantive STI contribution is not.
- Oncology
- In scope where an STI-related mechanism is central, such as HPV in cervical, anogenital or oropharyngeal disease. Cancer research without that mechanism is not.
- Reproductive health
- In scope where an STI contributes to the outcome, including tubal infection, infertility following infection, and congenital or perinatal transmission. Contraception, fertility treatment and reproductive endocrinology without an STI component are not.
- Public health
- In scope when the subject is STI prevention, screening, surveillance, treatment or service delivery. General population-health research without a substantive STI-related contribution is not.
- Behavioral and social research
- In scope when the study materially advances understanding of STI transmission, prevention, testing, treatment, partner services or access to care. Rigorous qualitative studies and attitude or behavior surveys may fit without biological or clinical endpoints when their STI-specific contribution is clear. General sexuality or social research without that contribution is outside scope.
- HIV and sexual-health care
- Research on HIV sexual transmission, HIV prevention including PrEP, PEP and treatment as prevention, interactions with other STIs, and integrated testing or sexual-health care is in scope. Another STI need not be present. HIV studies of congenital or perinatal transmission may also fit through the reproductive-health and transmission remit. General HIV pharmacology or AIDS complications without a substantive link to these questions is outside the journal’s focus.
- Other transmission routes of STI pathogens
- Congenital and perinatal infection, and other non-sexual transmission routes, may fit when they advance understanding, diagnosis, prevention or management of an STI pathogen. General environmental, occupational or blood-borne infection research without this contribution is outside scope.
- Immunology
- In scope where the immune response studied is to a sexually transmitted pathogen, or where the work bears on a vaccine against one. Fundamental immunology without that application is not.
- Data science and informatics
- In scope when the method is applied to STI risk prediction, diagnosis, surveillance or care delivery and is evaluated appropriately. Simply using an STI dataset as a generic computing benchmark does not establish fit. Methodological work with a substantive STI contribution need not already be deployed in clinical practice.
06 · Outside the remit
Generally outside scope
Work of the following kinds is normally declined at editorial screening, so that authors are not held through review for a decision that scope alone determines.
- General infectious disease
- Research on non-sexually-transmitted pathogens — respiratory, gastrointestinal and vector-borne — unless directly relevant to STI co-infection or differential diagnosis.
- Basic immunology without STI context
- Fundamental immunology, or vaccine development for non-STI pathogens, without direct application to sexually transmitted infection.
- Social research without a substantive STI contribution
- Qualitative research, attitude surveys or behavioral studies without a clear contribution to STI transmission, prevention, testing, treatment, care or access. The absence of a biological or clinical endpoint alone does not place a study outside scope.
- HIV research outside the journal’s focus
- General HIV pharmacology or AIDS complications without a substantive link to sexual transmission, prevention, interactions with other STIs or sexual-health care.
- Non-infectious sexual health
- Sexual dysfunction, contraception unrelated to STI, fertility treatment and reproductive endocrinology without an STI component.
If you are not certain where a manuscript falls, send the title and abstract to [email protected] and the editorial office will tell you whether it is worth preparing a full submission.
07 · Manuscript types
What form the work can take
Four main manuscript groups cover original research, reviews (including systematic reviews and meta-analyses), case reports or case series, and brief communications or technical notes. Editorials, commentaries and letters are additional scholarly contributions handled with the editorial office. APC categories distinguish these formats without changing their scope. Four main manuscript groups carry stated length requirements. Word counts exclude the abstract, references, tables and figure legends.
- Original research article · 4,000–8,000 words
- Findings from experimental, clinical, epidemiological, behavioral, qualitative or implementation studies of STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment, transmission or care, with a structured abstract and methods reported sufficiently for critical assessment and reproducibility where applicable.
- Review article · 6,000–10,000 words
- Comprehensive syntheses of an STI-related subject. Systematic reviews follow PRISMA, with a registered protocol where applicable; narrative reviews state their search strategy, sources, date range and inclusion rationale.
- Case report or case series · 1,500–3,000 words
- Unusual presentations, rare infections, unexpected treatment responses or diagnostic challenges with clear learning value, including documented patient consent and the clinical timeline.
- Brief communication or technical note · 1,000–2,000 words
- Preliminary findings, focused methodological innovations, laboratory techniques or surveillance observations with a clear STI-related contribution.
Instructions for authors states abstract structure, reference format, figure requirements and the submission checklist for each of these. Charges are set by article type on the article processing charges page.
08 · Standards
What every submission must meet
Scope is one of several grounds on which a manuscript is assessed. Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.
Research involving human participants, identifiable information or biological material must include an ethics statement naming the approving committee and reference number, or explaining any exemption or waiver under the applicable requirements. Authors must state whether consent to participate was obtained where required. Written consent for publication is required for identifiable case material. Authors must minimize the risk of identification, including through combinations of indirect details.
Reporting is expected to match the study design — CONSORT for clinical trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, STARD for studies of diagnostic accuracy, ARRIVE for animal research. Interventional clinical trials must be registered in an accepted public trial registry at or before the first participant provides consent for enrollment. Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement. Competing interests and every funding source are disclosed.
09 · Routes
Where to go next
- Instructions for authorsLength, structure, references and the submission checklist.
- Editorial policiesEthics, consent, authorship, competing interests, corrections.
- About the journalWhat IJSTD is, why it exists, and how it publishes.
- Editorial boardThe members who handle manuscripts, with their affiliations.
- Current issueThe most recent research the journal has published.
- ArchiveEvery record with its authors, pagination and identifier.
International Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (IJSTD) · ISSN 2994-6743 · Crossref DOI prefix 10.14302 · published open access by Open Access Pub under CC BY 4.0. Editorial decisions are independent of any fee, service, membership or role.