Instructions for Authors

Article types

Use the space needed to report the work clearly and avoid duplication. Word counts exclude the abstract, references, tables and figure legends. Include only references, figures and tables needed to substantiate the contribution. Clinical trials, outbreak investigations, protocols and data-intensive studies should be prepared in the appropriate research or short-communication format.

Manuscript structure

Title

State the subject, design and context relevant to the study. The title should be concise, avoid unexplained abbreviations and contain no more than 30 words. Supply a running title of no more than 60 characters, including spaces.

Abstract

For original research and systematic reviews, use Background, Methods, Results and Conclusions. Other contributions use a concise narrative abstract. The publisher's general abstract limit is 250 words. Report findings appropriate to the design, including numerical estimates when applicable; qualitative and conceptual work reports findings in its appropriate form.

Keywords

Provide four to six keywords, using established subject terms where appropriate. Include the pathogen, clinical problem, method or relevant exposure; a country name is useful when the setting is material to the research.

Introduction

Summarize established knowledge, the remaining question and the study objective.

Methods

Describe methods sufficiently for appraisal and reproducibility. Clinical and population studies report participants and case definitions; laboratory studies report materials and controls; qualitative studies report sampling and analysis; models report assumptions, evaluation and uncertainty. Report permissions, ethics approval or an applicable exemption as appropriate to the work.

Results

Present findings separately from interpretation. Include denominators with every proportion, and a measure of uncertainty with every estimate. Numbers in the text agree with the tables.

Discussion

Explain what the findings mean, how they relate to existing work and the conclusions supported by the data. Limitations are specific — which bias, in which direction, of roughly what size.

Conclusions

Confined to what the data show, and to the population and setting studied.

Figures, tables and references

Tables

Numbered in order of citation, each with a caption that makes it readable on its own, units in the column heads, and footnotes defining every abbreviation. A table presents information that adds to the text.

Figures

Provide a separate original-resolution figure file, using TIFF for raster figures, and retain its native detail. At the intended publication size, numbers, letters and symbols should be at least 2 mm high. Provide scale bars, units and legends, and pair color with labels, patterns or symbols.

Reused material

Any figure, table or extract from another source carries written permission and a credit line.

References

Numbered in order of first citation. Journal articles give authors, title, journal, year, volume, pages and DOI where one exists. List the first three authors, then et al. Preserve the spelling of each cited title.

Units and nomenclature

Use SI units. Give species names in full at first use and italicize them thereafter. Use international nonproprietary drug names and approved gene nomenclature, with accession numbers where applicable.

Language

English. An optional, author-paid language-editing service may improve grammar, clarity, and style; scientific content is not changed. The service is independent of the editorial process and does not affect the review outcome or decision.

What each study design must report

These reporting points help readers assess the relevance and transferability of tropical-disease findings.

Clinical and observational

Design, setting and dates; how participants were identified and enrolled; the diagnostic criteria used to define a case; outcomes defined in advance; confounders and how they were handled; statistical methods; and the ethics approval. Follows STROBE, or CONSORT with the registration details for a trial.

Epidemiology, surveillance and outbreaks

The case definition and whether it was clinical, confirmed or probable; the sampling frame and the denominator behind every rate; the surveillance system and its coverage; the geographic and temporal boundaries of the data; known under-ascertainment and its likely direction; and how missing data were treated.

Diagnostic accuracy

The reference standard and why it was chosen; how participants were selected and whether the spectrum reflects intended use; whether index and reference results were read blind to each other; sensitivity, specificity and predictive values with confidence intervals and the prevalence they were calculated at; and indeterminate results. Follows STARD.

Parasitology and vector studies

How species were identified and by what method; where, when and how collection was carried out, with the permissions; sample sizes and effort; laboratory methods with controls; and for insecticide or drug susceptibility, the assay, the reference strain and the criteria applied.

Imported and travel-associated disease

Travel or exposure history with dates and places; the interval from exposure and from onset to presentation and to diagnosis; the diagnostic reasoning, including what was considered and excluded; and why the case matters for a clinician outside an endemic region.

One Health and zoonoses

A stated pathway to human health. Animal, vector or environmental sampling is reported with the same rigor as the human component, and the study says what the finding implies for human tropical disease.

Modeling and data science

The data, their provenance and their limitations; the model structure and every parameter with its source; how it was validated and against what; sensitivity analysis; and what the output means for the disease question. Interpret model performance in relation to the clinical or epidemiological question.

Declarations every manuscript carries

Author contributions

What each author did, in enough detail to show they meet the authorship criteria on Editorial Policies.

Funding

Every source with its grant number, and each funder's role in design, analysis and the decision to publish. State the funding source and its role; use “No external funding” where applicable.

Competing interests

Provide a declaration for every author, including a statement of no competing interests where applicable.

Data availability

Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement.

Ethics and consent

The approving committee and its reference; how consent was obtained; and written consent to publish for a case report or any identifiable detail.

Trial registration

Interventional clinical trials must be registered in an accepted public trial registry at or before the first participant provides consent for enrollment. The registry name, registration number, and registration date must be reported in the manuscript.

Use of AI

Any use of an AI tool in preparing the manuscript or in the research, described so a reader knows what it did. Authorship remains limited to people who meet the journal’s authorship criteria.

Before you submit

• The tropical-disease question is substantive, with the setting clearly related to it — tested against Aims and Scope.
• Select the manuscript category that matches the contribution and structure the manuscript accordingly.
• Abstract structured where required, with findings expressed appropriately for the design.
• Methods, evidence and limitations reported appropriately for the study design; case definitions and diagnostic methods provided where applicable.
• Every proportion has its denominator; every estimate has a measure of uncertainty.
• The applicable reporting checklist completed.
• Figures at publication resolution, with scale bars, units and labels, patterns or symbols alongside color.
• References numbered in citation order, first three authors then et al., DOIs where they exist.
• Identifying information in a separate title-page file for double-blind review.
• All declarations prepared: contributions, funding, competing interests, data availability, ethics, consent, registration, AI use.
• Approvals and permissions ready to upload.

When it is ready, go to Submit a manuscript. Charges are set out on Article processing charges, and the rules that govern assessment are on Editorial Policies.

Files and reference formats

Provide editable manuscript text, using a format such as DOCX; editable tables may be supplied as XLSX or within the manuscript, and raster figures as TIFF. Provide figure legends and supplementary-file descriptions in the manuscript. Name files clearly and identify their order in the text.

Number references in order of first citation. List the first three authors followed by “et al.” where there are additional authors. Include a DOI or other persistent identifier where one exists.

Journal article example

Pawar S, Shende P. Malaria: An Unseen Enemy Threatening to Mankind. Journal of Tropical Diseases and Medicine. 2018;1(1):1–13.

Book format

Author or organization. Book title. Edition. Place: publisher; year.

Webpage format

Author or organization. Page title. Publication or update date. URL. Date accessed.

Dataset or software

Creator. Dataset or software title. Repository; year. Version. DOI or accession.

Preprint

Author. Title. Preprint server; year. Version and DOI or persistent URL. Identify the work as a preprint.

Trial registry

Registry name. Study title. Registration number, registration date and record URL.

Preparing for review

Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request.

For double-blind review, remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, funding details, institution names, and other identifying information from the reviewer manuscript. Provide identifying information separately in the title-page file or submission form.

Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.

Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.

Submission routes

1. Primary route — ManuscriptZone: Submit through ManuscriptZone.
2. Alternative route — Simple manuscript submission form: Submit using the journal-specific form.
3. Assisted route — Editorial email: [email protected].

Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript.