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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 11
| Issue : 2 | Page : 69-70 |
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Publication Trends in the COVID Era
Subhash Chandra Parija
Vice-Chancellor, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Puducherry, India
| Date of Submission | 30-Sep-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 30-Sep-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 20-Oct-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Subhash Chandra Parija
Vice-Chancellor, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Puducherry
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/tp.tp_84_21
How to cite this article:
Parija SC. Publication Trends in the COVID Era. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:69-70 |
Greetings from the desk of the Editor.
Welcome to the second issue of Tropical Parasitology, 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic starting in late 2019 and still continuing unabated in almost all parts of the world has pushed almost all other infectious diseases in the background and has grabbed the number one spot. This has affected not only the publication but the readership trend as well. In a multi-specialty journal, we can see a steady increase in COVID-19-related article, compared to other diseases. In an analysis of all the articles available in PubMed in 2019 and 2020, it was found that COVID-19-related articles had a median time from receipt to acceptance of 6 days in 2020 with an average of 367 articles published per week, while for non-COVID-19 content published in the same journals in 2020 the median time to acceptance was 84 days.[1] In a study, it was found that there was a steadily increasing trend in the percentage of COVID-19-related articles and a concomitant decreasing trend in the percentage of non-COVID-19-related articles published in high-impact print journals like BMJ and The Lancet during the period from December 2019 through May 2020. Non-COVID-19-related articles began decreasing in volume as COVID-19-related articles increased.[2] With the situation showing little sign of improving in the near future, it seems we have to continue with this publication and readership trend for some more time to come.
The current issue of Tropical Parasitology features articles covering a broad range in the field of parasitology. Prof Kashi Nath Prasad in his Dr. SC Parija oration article, delivered at the 2020 national congress of the Indian Academy of Tropical Parasitology (IATP), describes his journey and observations on the subject of neurocysticercosis.[3] The review article on Balamuthia mandrillaris is an update of the said free-living amoeba.[4] The discoverer of kala-azar therapy in India, Sir UN Brahmachari's life and works has been featured in the newly introduced Brief Biography section.[5] Among the original articles, malaria features in two articles. One deals with the CD 34 and CD 68 expression in placental malaria,[6] while the other article is about malaria susceptibility related to blood groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.[7] Use of castor seed bio-waste in mosquito control[8] and neurocognitive disorder in neurocysticercosis[9] are the subjects of two other original articles. The enigmatic Blastocystis has been study subject in two other articles, one from India[10] and the other from Jordan.[11] The first report of Dirofilaria repens causing subcutaneous disease in Thailand has been documented.[12] In our regular Face-to-Face section,[13] we present the interview with the renowned parasitologist as well as microbiologist, Prof. NK Ganguly who has also served as Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research. Under the book review series, the book on medical education entitled effective medical communication: The A, B, C, D, E of it has been reviewed by Prof. P. V. Vijayaraghavan.[14] At the end, we like to inform our readers about the sad demise of Dr. Utpala Devi who was not only associated with the journal but has contributed immensely to the growth and development of the IATP. On behalf of the IATP, we like to pay homage to her departed soul.[15]
We hope that the readers will be enriched in their knowledge by going through the articles in this issue.
 References | |  |
| 1. | Palayew A, Norgaard O, Safreed-Harmon K, Andersen TH, Rasmussen LN, Lazarus JV. Pandemic publishing poses a new COVID-19 challenge. Nat Hum Behav 2020;4:666-9.  |
| 2. | Shan J, Ballard D, Vinson DR. Publication non grata: The challenge of publishing non-COVID-19 research in the COVID era. Cureus 2020;12:e11403. |
| 3. | Prasad KN. My experience on taeniasis and neurocysticercosis. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:71-7. [Full text] |
| 4. | Bhosale NK, Parija SC. Balamuthia mandrillaris: An opportunistic, free-living ameba – An updated review. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:78-88. [Full text] |
| 5. | Saha P, Chaudhury A, Maji AK, Sir U.N. Brahmachari and his battle against Kala-Azar. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:89-91. [Full text] |
| 6. | Rustamadji P, Takbir M, Wuyung PE, Kusmardi K, Wiyarta E. Correlation between CD 34 and CD 68 expression in placental malaria with maternal anemia. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:92-6. [Full text] |
| 7. | Tonen-Wolyec S, Batina-Agasa S. High susceptibility to severe malaria among patients with A blood group versus those with O blood group: A cross-sectional study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:97-101. [Full text] |
| 8. | Sogan N, Kala S, Kapoor N, Patanjali PK, Nagpal BN. Utilization of the castor seed cake (biowaste) for mosquito vector control. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:102-7. [Full text] |
| 9. | Goyal G, Kaur U, Lal V, Mahesh KV, Sehgal R. A study on neurcognitive disorders and demographic profile of neurocysticercosis patients. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:108-12. [Full text] |
| 10. | Jha S, Gupta P, Bhatia M. Blastocystis spp. infection in cases of diarrhea: A pilot study from a tertiary care teaching hospital in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, with a brief review of literature. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:113-21. [Full text] |
| 11. | Hijjawi N, Zahedi A, Ryan U. Molecular characterization of Entamoeba, Blastocystis, and Cryptosporidium species in stool samples collected from Jordanian patients suffering from gastroenteritis. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:122-5. [Full text] |
| 12. | Thongpiya J, Kreetitamrong S, Thongsit T, Toothong T, Rojanapanus S, Sarasombath PT. The first case report of subcutaneous dirofilariasis caused by Dirofilaria repens in Thailand. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:125-7. [Full text] |
| 13. | Ganguly NK. Face-to-Face: Virtual interview with Dr. Nirmal Kumar Ganguly. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:128-31. |
| 14. | Vijayaraghavan PV. Effective medical communication – The A, B, C, D, E of it. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:133-4. [Full text] |
| 15. | Utpala Devi-Obituary. Trop Parasitol 2021;11:132. |
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