Guidelines for Authors Contributing to the
Canada Communicable Disease Report

Table of content

• Introduction
• Types of Articles in the Main CCDR Issues
• Advisory Committee Statements
• Reproduction
• Clearance
• Submission
• Review
• Duplicate Publication
• Preparing an Article
• Acknowledgements
• References
• Authorship
• Editorial Note
• Style
• CCDR Contact Information

Introduction

The Public Health Agency of Canada's Canada Communicable Disease Report (CCDR) distributes current information on infectious diseases in Canada to public-health professionals, both nationally and internationally. It specializes in surveillance of infectious diseases, outbreak investigations, immunization, infection control, and tropical health and quarantine information, and other disease control activities. The CCDR is indexed in Index Medicus.

Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) annually produces 12 bilingual issues. It is available via the Internet.

Types of Articles in the Main CCDR Issues

The current scope of CCDR articles is listed under the headings below.

Case reports provide case information on specific diseases.

Epidemiologic reports provide information on recent outbreaks and epidemiologic investigations, and cover the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases.

Other reports present information on unusual infectious diseases, new identities, and unusual trends.

Errata/Addenda/Clarifications are printed as needed.

International Notes present international epidemiologic investigations of infectious disease, health assessments, and implications to international travellers.

Notifiable Diseases Summary presents current and cumulative data on a list of communicable diseases on a quarterly basis.

Recommendations from consensus conferences are reported.

Advisory Committee Statements

Statements, guideline updates, and recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), the Advisory Committee on Epidemiology (ACE), and the Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel (CATMAT) provide information on immunization policy and vaccine efficacy, control of communicable diseases in Canada, and tropical medicine and travel. These are published separately inAn Advisory Committee Statement (ACS) publication on as-requested basis, with up to six publications a year.

Reproduction

The CCDR is covered by the copyright laws. Therefore, any portion may not be reproduced, transcribed, or translated into other media without express permission from the publishers. Once written permission has been obtained, the CCDR should be listed as the source of the material.

Clearance

Authors are responsible for internal and/or external clearances before the article is submitted. They are responsible for confirming that

• all material is correct as stated

• methodology is appropriate

• conclusions are valid and defensible

• all parts of article are consistent with all other parts

• policy statements, recommendations, guidelines, and material involving value judgments are in accord with Health Canada policy, if written internally. If written outside of Health Canada, authors may make statements and recommendations that may be addressed by an editorial comment from Health Canada.
  

Standard clearance involves

• all primary authors

• appropriate health departments (local, provincial, federal)

• appropriate senior officials, supervisor, or appropriate senior person from the affiliated organization. Specific names may be replaced by listing a title (e.g., Ontario Provincial Epidemiologist).
  

Note: When an article is to be published simultaneously in the CCDR and another journal, clearance is usually more involved and takes considerable time.

Submission

Articles may be submitted in French or in English. Reviewed and revised French articles are sent to a translation service to ensure consistency in the style of the French text from issue to issue.

The corresponding author should be clearly identified, with telephone and fax numbers and E-mail address included. A backup contact should also be identified in the event that the corresponding author might not be available for a prolonged period of time.

Authors should submit the manuscript electronically with the text and in MS Word. Figures should be in Excel, Power Point, Harvard Graphics or Corel Draw. Do not incorporate figures and tables into the text. Do not use any endnote or footnote word-processing feature to generate a reference list.

Receipt of an article is acknowledged by e-mail from the CCDR editor.

Review

The CCDR editor reviews cleared articles for acceptance. If necessary, articles are sent for review to one or more PHAC staff members with expertise in the relevant subject matter. If an editorial comment will be written, out of courtesy a draft copy will be forwarded to the author prior to publication for their information.

Duplicate Publication

Publication elsewhere does not preclude publication in the CCDR. Publication in the CCDR may be considered when an article is also submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. However, authors should inform the CCDR editor that the same material is being submitted to another journal so that duplicate publication can be discussed and coordinated. Authors should also contact editorial staff at the other journal to determine if that journal's policy on duplicate publication affects the publication of the same material in the CCDR.

Similarly, the publication of brief timely reports in the CCDR should not be precluded by submission of longer articles to peer-reviewed journals. Authors should check the peer-reviewed journal's policy to ensure that publication of a short report in the CCDR will not affect publication in that journal.

Preparing an Article

Length and Completeness

Each issue is usually 8 to 16 pages in length (approximately 6,400 words in English or 6,800 in French).

Manuscripts should not exceed 6,400 words (including tables, figures, acknowledgements, references, and source). The general rule is to report exactly as much as is necessary to cover the topic clearly. Make sentences as brief and concise as possible. Avoid medical jargon (e.g., "incompletely immunized" instead of "did not have a complete series of vaccinations"). Use the active rather than the passive voice, and avoid using descriptive adjectives and adverbs whenever possible.

There is little or no time for refining the text once the article is submitted. Authors are expected to have the text, and any figures and tables (although, these will be modified for format), in a final accurate version. The following information is presented to help authors prepare their articles to meet that expectation.

Content - Text

The content of CCDR articles follows the basic format of a standard journal article - the authorship introduction, the methods, the results, the discussion, and the conclusion. The content is then followed by acknowledgements when appropriate, and the references.

Introduction
The introduction is a short paragraph that describes who, what, when, where, how, and, perhaps, why. Reports of epidemiologic field investigations usually begin with a problem statement, followed by a statement of what was done, when, by whom, and how. A one-sentence synopsis of the article concludes the introduction. Lead paragraphs for similar articles should also follow this format.

Methods
The methods section briefly describes the investigation, survey, or database being reported, and outlines how activities were conducted, treated, and/or analyzed.

Results
The results section provides clinical, epidemiologic, laboratory, analytic, and other investigational findings - with no interpretation or other commentary. Findings should be presented in a logical order and may be accompanied by tabular and graphic material only when such material enhances and clarifies what has been stated in the text.

Discussion
The discussion section emphasizes the new and important aspects of the study and the subsequent conclusions, without repeating previously mentioned material in detail.

Conclusions
Conclusions should be linked to the goals of the study and must be supported by the data. Implications of the findings as well as their limitations may also be included. New hypotheses should be identified as such. Highlight public-health actions.

Content - Tables and Figures

Use the tables and figures to emphasize or summarize important data in the text. Do not repeat information from the text in tables and figures. Include tabular and graphic material only when all the following questions can be answered with "yes".

• Is it necessary to clarify or enhance the text?

• Is it clear?

• Is it accurate?

• Does it agree with text?

• Can it stand alone and still make sense?

For more information on the presentation of tables and figures, see under "Style" below.

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgements section lists individuals, groups, and institutions that have assisted the authors and/or contributed to producing the article. This section also provides an opportunity to recognize valuable technical and laboratory help. The acknowledgements may also note the specific contributions (e.g., technical assistance, financial and/or material support) as well - or a general statement may be made at the beginning of the list thanking the authors (e.g., "The authors thank the following for their assistance: ..."). Note that an acknowledgment does not imply authorship.

For more information on acknowledgements, see under "Style" below.

References

References should be selected carefully and kept to a minimum, keeping in mind that publication space is fixed and limited. Published material takes precedence, but electronic references may be used. Newspaper articles, publicity announcements, promotional material, and unpublished material and personal communications are not acceptable as references. (Unpublished observations and data or personal communications are cited in the text in parentheses.)

References are to be numbered in order as they are cited in the text. Reference numbers are superscripted (i.e., superscript⁽¹⁾) in parentheses at the ends of sentences. Do not use any endnote or footnote word-processing feature to generate a reference list.

Tables and figures stand alone and any cited material should be tied to them accordingly. References in tables or figures are not numbered; symbols or letters may be used to list them at the bottom of the table or figure.

References used for footnotes are not numbered. The full reference should be cited in the footnote.

Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy of references, including the abbreviation of publication titles.

For more information on the authorship, see under "Style" below.

Authorship

Authorship section lists the authors. It appears under the main title. The authors are responsible for the order of the presentation of the names of individuals and/or organizations. However, it is usual to group individuals affiliated with the same institution or organization to avoid repetition.

For more information on the source, see under "Style" below.

Editorial Note

When an editorial note is written, it is usually by a PHAC staff member with designated responsibility for the subject matter being discussed in the article.

Style

The CCDR has a standard style. The editorial staff ensure that all published material conforms to this style, but authors should consult the following check list before preparing articles for submission. The editors have the right to return articles if many stylistic requirements are not met, particularly those related to references, figures, and tables. By using the following check list and the conventions that apply to their articles, authors can save time up front, rather than making changes after investing heavily in the writing.

In some cases, an article may require a special format or style. If an author plans to produce such an article, contact the CCDR editor to discuss possible variations in the style and format of presentation before writing or submitting the article.

Acronyms

• When using abbreviations or acronyms, write the words out in full when first used and then present the short form in brackets. Do not use an acronym for a term that is also widely used in other contexts (e.g., "OR" is widely accepted as both "operations research", "operating room" and "odds ratio").

Numbers

• Abbreviate only commonly used standard units of measurement.

• Use SI units for all measurements (except for pressure which is in mm Hg).

• Type the numeral one (1) for number 1; do not type lower-case "L".

• Type the numeral zero (0) for number 0; do not type the upper case "O".

• Type the upper case O for serotypes (e.g., E. coli O157:H7); do not type the numeral zero.

• Use the "%" symbol for percent (e.g., 8%) except at the beginning of a sentence, where the term is spelled out as "Eight percent..."

• Repeat the percent sign with each numeral and avoid the use of dashes (e.g., 10% to 15% rather than 10-15%) when stating ranges of percentages.

• Be consistent in the use of decimals in percentages (and other arithmetic statements) throughout. For example, if one decimal place is used for percentage (e.g., "...37.5% of the patients reported..."), the percentages that follow should also be presented with one decimal place (e.g., "...45.0% and 30.0%, respectively, reported...").

• Express numbers smaller than one with a zero in front (e.g., 0.7 mL as opposed to .7 mL).

• Ensure that numbers are accurate (e.g., totals adding up) in tables and figures, and are consistent with any reference to them in the text.

• Define statistical and epidemiologic abbreviations and symbols clearly when introduced in the article.

• Use < and > for "less than" and "more than", (e.g., for those > 5 years of age).

• Compare p values to conventional alpha levels when p values are used (i.e., p < 0.05 and p < 0.01). However, exact values can be reported to the third decimal place (e.g., p = 0.007). For p values beyond three decimal places, simply indicate p < 0.001.

Drugs and vaccines

• Provide generic names for drugs.
• Identify licensed brand names of drugs, vaccines, and devices accurately with up-to-date trademark or registered sign, followed by the official name of the company in brackets.

Figures and tables

• Submit figures and tables in separate files. Do not incorporate them into the text.

• Cite each figure and table in the text.

• Number figures in the order that they are cited in the text.

• Number tables in the order that they are cited in the text.

• Provide a brief title for each table and figure, and a short or abbreviated heading for every column in a table. Use footnotes to expand or clarify titles or headings, if necessary.

• Use legends to identify and explain each symbol, arrow, or letter used to identify parts of a figure or expand on information in a table.

• Use symbols for footnotes and legends. Do not use numbers.

• Label rows and columns clearly, and state units of measurement.

• Cite sources of data in footnotes.

• Obtain permission from the appropriate source and publisher for the use of previously published material. Written permission must be submitted to the CCDR editor.

Acknowledgements

• Provide the last name and first initial (preceded by Dr. if the individual is a doctor), full name of the affiliation, and geographic location.

• Provide the full name for institutions or associations, and geographic location.

• In an effort to recognize the assistance of laboratories it is recommended that any laboratory participation be acknowledged.

Example

The authors thank the following for their assistance: Dr. M. Black, Ross Memorial Hospital, Lindsay, Ontario, A. Markham, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Calgary, Alberta., and the Provincial Public Health Laboratory, St. John's, Newfoundland.

References

• Number references in the order they appear in the text. Do not use any endnote or footnote word-processing feature to generate references.

• Place reference numbers in brackets and superscript at the appropriate place in the text, usually at the end of the sentence.

• Follow the style of Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (and Supplemental Statements from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors), which can be found on the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors Web site at <http://www.icmje.org/index.html (External link) > (e.g., for journals, names of authors with initials as they appear in the publication, name of article in italics, name of the publication in the abbreviated form, year, volume number, inclusive page numbers).

• Use abbreviations for journals according to the List of Serials Indexed for Online Users originating from the United States Library of Medicine, which can be found at <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lsiou.html (External link) > .

• Use the names of the first three authors, then add "et al."

• For electronic references, list the authors, name of the article and any other available information about its source, the universal resource locator (URL), and the date of access.

• Cite references to personal communications in the text in brackets (indicate as personal communication and provide the last name with the first initial, indicate if a doctor, affiliation, or full name of the association or institution, geographic location, and year).

• Cite references to unpublished data in the text in brackets (indicate as unpublished observations or data and provide information as listed above for personal communication).

Examples - References

1. World Health Organization. Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 1999-2000 season. WHO Wkly Epidemiol Rec 1999;74:57-64.

2. Anderson JF, Johnson RC, Magnarelli LA et al. Involvement of bird in the epidemiology of Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect Immunol 1986;51:394-96.

3. Andriole V. Quinolones. In: Mandell GL, Douglas RG, Bennett JE, eds. Principles and practice of infectious diseases. 3rd ed. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1990:334-45.

4. Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre. Salmonella in humans: the PHLS Salmonella dataset, England and Wales, 1981-1996. URL: <http://www.open.gov.uk/cdsc/site_fr3.htm (External link) >. Date of access: 14 Oct. 1997.

Example - Personal Communication

(Dr. D. Davies, Regional Parasitology Laboratory, Hamilton: personal communication, 1999).

Authorship

• Provide the first initial and last name, academic degrees, and full names of the affiliation and geographic location.

• Provide the full name and geographic location for institutions.

Example

O Brown, RN, BSc (1), E Richie, MD (2)
1 Ontario Ministry of Health North York, Ontario
2 Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Quebec.

CCDR Contact Information

Submissions to the CCDR should be sent electronically to: ccdr-rmtc@phac-aspc.gc.ca