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SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES (STD) is a peer-reviewed journal that welcomes the submission of papers on clinical, laboratory, immunological, epidemiological, behavioral, public health, and historical topics pertaining to Sexually Transmitted Diseases and related fields. The Journal publishes:

Original Articles
Reports of newly delineated syndromes; new investigations into mechanism of disease; descriptions of clinical experiences; reports of therapeutic trials; and other original contributions to etiology, pathology, epidemiology, sociology, diagnosis, or treatment. The maximum length is 3500 words.

Notes/Case Reports
Notes are brief research reports that do not require a full-length article to describe the research findings. Case reports include descriptions of unusual manifestations of disease or of new procedures. We publish few case reports and will consider only if truly important for clinical care or understanding of STD. Both are limited to 1500 words.

Reviews
Reviews are detailed critical surveys of a particular topic. Both narrative reviews and systematic reviews are accepted. If a narrative review is submitted, the title should include the words "A Narrative Review". The maximum length is 3500 words.

Editorials/Commentaries
Editorials are commissioned by the journal editorial staff. Commentaries may be commissioned or initiated by the authors. Both are statements of personal opinion or evaluation of current progress in a particular area of research. Editorials are limited to 1500 words. Commentaries are limited to 2000 words, unless permission is obtained from the editorial staff. We encourage submitting a concept of a planned commentary to the Editor before submission.

Letters
Letters are opinion on topics recently under consideration in this journal. Letters should not exceed 500 words. The editor reserves the right to shorten and otherwise edit such letters. When indicated, the author of the article in question will be shown the letter and given an opportunity to comment on the letter in the same issue. Letters that contain new research data are discouraged and will rarely be considered, except under unusual circumstances.

Photographs
Photographs of relevance to the field of STD. Pictures may be of microbes or clinical manifestations. We solicit photos that are of scientific interest, or that have an instructional point to make. A brief description or explanatory text must be submitted along with the photograph. Limit the text to a few sentences.

GENERAL INFORMATION All submissions to STD must be made electronically via Editorial Manager, our online submission and peer review system at the following URL: http://www.editorialmanager.com/std. (E-mailed submissions will not be accepted.)

First-Time Users
Please click the Register button from the menu above and enter the requested information. On successful registration, you will be sent an e-mail indicating your user name and password. Print a copy of this information for future reference. Note: If you have received an e-mail from us with an assigned user ID and password, or if you are a repeat user, do not register again. Just log in. Once you have an assigned ID and password, you do not have to re-register, even if your status changes (that is, author, reviewer, or editor).

Authors
Please click the log-in button from the menu at the top of the page and log in to the system as an Author. STD has a strict 15 author limit. A study group, surveillance team, working group, consortium, or the like (e.g., the Active Bacterial Core Surveillance Team) may be listed as a coauthor in the byline if its contributing members satisfy the requirements for authorship and accountability. The names (and institutional affiliations if desired) of the contributing members may be given in a footnote keyed to the study group name in the byline or as a separate paragraph in Acknowledgments. Submit your manuscript according to the author instructions. You will be able to track the progress of your manuscript through the system. If you experience any problems, please contact the STD Editorial Office: [email protected]. Requests for help and other questions will be addressed in the order received.

If you are a young investigator, defined as "Current graduate, medical or other professional student, current postdoctoral fellow including clinical fellows, or within two years of completing graduate school or postdoctoral training", please check the status box.  Young investigators with articles accepted for publication will be entered into a "Best Paper Award."

Expectations to Review
Authors submitting to STD may be asked to provide future reviews for the journal. The publication process depends on high quality reviews. Use of that process as an author includes an implicit agreement to pay back the process with future reviews.

Ethical/Legal Considerations
A submission must be an original contribution not previously published (except as an abstract or a preliminary report), must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere and, if accepted, must not be published elsewhere in similar form, in any language, without the consent of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Each person listed as an author is expected to have participated in the study to a significant extent. Although the editors and referees make every effort to ensure the validity of published manuscripts, the final responsibility rests with the authors, not with the Journal, its editors, or the publisher.

Conflict of Interest Notification
Authors must state all possible conflicts of interest in the manuscript, including financial, consultant, institutional and other relationships that might lead to bias or a conflict of interest. If there is no conflict of interest, this should also be explicitly stated as none declared. All sources of funding should be acknowledged in the manuscript. All relevant conflicts of interest and sources of funding should be included on the title page of the manuscript with the heading "Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:"

For example:

Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: A has received honoraria from Company Z. B is currently receiving a grant (#12345) from Organization Y and is on the speaker's bureau for Organization X - the CME organizers for Company A. For the remaining authors none were declared.

Patient Anonymity and Informed Consent
The author is responsible for ensuring that a patient's anonymity be carefully protected and to verify that any experimental investigation with human subjects reported in the manuscript was performed with informed consent and following all the guidelines for experimental investigation with human subjects required by the institution(s) with which all the authors are affiliated. Photographs with bars placed over eyes of patients should NOT be used in publication. If these photos are used or other identifying details (race, sex, age, occupation, nationality, sexual orientation, etc) are included in the article, then the author must provide proof of informed consent that he/she obtained from the patient (signed permission form). The informed consent form (http://edmgr.ovid.com/std/accounts/PatientConsentforPub_STD.docx) must be uploaded online at the time of submission.

Permissions
Authors must submit written permission from the copyright owner (usually the publisher) to use direct quotations, tables, or illustrations that have appeared in copyrighted form elsewhere, along with complete details about the source. Any permissions fees that might be required by the copyright owner are the responsibility of the authors requesting use of the borrowed material, not the responsibility of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Protection of Human Subjects and Animals in Research
When reporting experiments involving human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. For research involving animals, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the standards set forth in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (published by the National Academy of Science, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.)

Compliance with NIH and Other Research Funding Agency Accessibility Requirements
A number of research funding agencies require authors to submit the post-print (the article after peer review and acceptance but not the final published article) to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. As a service to our authors, LWW will identify to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) articles that require deposit and will transmit the post-print of an article based on research funded in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or other funding agencies to PubMed Central. The author must clearly indicate their funding source in the copyright/conflict of interest (COI) form to complete this process.

Copyright/Conflict of Interest
All copyright/COI forms are signed electronically. During the submission process, you must list all coauthors and their e-mail addresses in the 'Add/Edit/Remove Authors' step. The form will be e-mailed to your coauthors for acknowledgment and completion. The corresponding author will submit their copyright/COI via Editorial Manager.

Acknowledgment Form
The corresponding author must electronically sign the Acknowledgment form at the time of submission. This form declares that all people involved in the study have been clearly identified and acknowledged in the article.

Cover Letter
A cover letter is required for most submissions. It should include: a very brief overview of the work submitted (1-2 sentences), why your article is appropriate for STD (1-2 sentences), a statement of authorship, notifications of conflicts of interest, and ethical adherence.

Organization and Format

General Requirements
For submissions, all text should be double-spaced. Font size should be no smaller than 12 pt. Left and right margins should be set at 1 inch. Number all pages in sequence and insert continuous line numbers, starting on page 1.

Style
Sexually Transmitted Diseases is in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (ICMJE). Pattern manuscript style after the American Medical Association Manual of Style (10th edition). Stedman's Medical Dictionary (28th edition) and Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition) should be used as standard references. Refer to drugs and therapeutic agents by their accepted generic or chemical names, and do not abbreviate them. The name should not be abbreviated. Use code numbers only when a generic name is not yet available. In that case, supply the chemical name and a figure.

Original Articles

Title Page
Must contain the following information (a) complete manuscript title; (b) authors' full names (limit of 12), highest academic degrees, and affiliations; (c) name and address of corresponding author, including fax number, telephone number, and e-mail address; (d) address for reprints if different from that of corresponding author; (e) word counts for the summary, abstract, and text; number of references, figures and tables; and (f) a statement disclosing whether or not any conflict of interest exists; and (g) all sources of support (ie. National Institutes of Health; Wellcome Trust; Howard Hughes Medical Institute); including pharmaceutical and industry support, that require acknowledgement.

Short Summary
A brief summary of your findings is needed for the Table of Contents. Limit the summary to a few sentences (<30 words).
For example: A study of clients in an STD clinic in Malibu, California found that women with chlamydial infection were younger than women with gonorrhea and were less likely to have multiple partners.

Abstract and Key Words
Limit the abstract to 250 words. Use the following subheads: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Do not cite references in the abstract. Limit the use of abbreviations and acronyms. List three to five key words. Choose these words carefully, as they are critical for accurate searches in PubMed and similar databases. We encourage use of at least one broad term and one specific term.

Text
Organize the manuscript into these main headings: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion (3500 word limit). References, Tables, and Figures should follow. Generally, the introduction should be 2-4 paragraphs. The Editor discourages a limitations paragraph simply listing limitations. Instead, provide a full discussion of each limitation (typically one paragraph per key limitation) or incorporate the discussion of the limitations into the discussion of previous studies. Define abbreviations at first mention in text and in each table and figure. If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer's name and address (city and state/country).

Abbreviations
For a list of standard abbreviations, consult the Council of Biology Editors Style Guide (available from the Council of Science Editors, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814) or other standard sources. Write out the full term for each abbreviation at its first use unless it is a standard unit of measure.

References
The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references.  There is a limit of 30 print references.  Extra references may be included as Supplemental content and are submitted as a separate file.  These extra references should be numbered as 31s, 32s, 33s, etc. Key the references (double-spaced) at the end of the manuscript. Number the references in text in the order of appearance. To limit references, choose key citations for each point, rather than an exhaustive listing. Cite unpublished data-such as papers submitted but not yet accepted for publication and personal communications, including e-mail communications in parentheses in the text. If there are more than three authors, name only the first three authors and then use et al. Refer to the List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus for abbreviations of journal names at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals.

Sample references are given below.

Journal article:
1. Golden MR, Barbee LA, Kerani R, et al. Potential Deleterious Effects of Promoting the Use of Ceftriaxone in the Treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Sex Transm Dis 2014; 41(10): 619-625.

Book chapter:
2. Elias J, Frosch M, Vogel U. Neisseria. In: Versalovic J, Carroll KC, Funke G, Jorgensen JH Landry ML, Warnock DW, eds. Manual of Clinical Microbiology. 10th ed. Washington, DC: American Society of Microbiology; 2011:559-603.

Entire book:
3. Sherman IW. The Power of Plagues. Washington, DC: ASM Press; 2006.

Software:
4. Epi Info [computer program]. Version 7.1.5. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2015.

Online journals:
5. Plecko V, Zele-Starcevic Li, Tripkovic V, et al. Unusually low prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium in urine samples from infertile men and healthy controls: a prevalence study. BMJ Open (Online) August 2014; 4:8 e005372. Available from: http://bmjopen.bmj.com/ Accessed October 22, 2015.

Database:
6. CANCERNET-PDQ [database online]. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2015. Updated July 17, 2015.

World Wide Web:
7. Keating N L and Pace LE. New Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screening in US Women (JAMA Web site). Available at: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2463237. Accessed October 19, 2015.

Paper Presented at a Conference:
8. Moncada J, Schachter J, Rauch L, et al. How many MSM with chlamydial and gonococcal infections are missed if only urine specimens are screened? Presented at: 6th European Chlamydia Meeting [P07]; 2008; Aarhus.

Photographs/Figures
Art should be created/scanned and saved and submitted as either a TIFF (tagged image file format), an EPS (encapsulated PostScript) file, or a PPT (PowerPoint) file. Line art must have a resolution of at least 1200 dpi (dots per inch), and electronic photographs- radiographs, CT scans, and so on-and scanned images must have a resolution of at least 300 dpi. If fonts are used in the artwork, they must be converted to paths or outlines or they must be embedded in the files. Color images must be created/scanned and saved and submitted as CMYK files. Please note that artwork generated from office suite programs such CorelDRAW and MS Word and artwork downloaded from the Internet (JPEG or GIF files) cannot be used. For more detailed instructions, go to: 5 Steps to Creating Digital Artwork. Cite figures consecutively in the text, and number them in the order in which they are discussed.

Figure Legends
Include legends for all figures. They should be brief and specific, but with sufficient information to interpret the figure. They should appear on a separate manuscript page after the references. Use scale markers in the image for electron micrographs, and indicate the type of stain used.

Color Figures
The journal accepts for publication color figures/ photographs that will enhance an article. Authors who submit color figures will receive an estimate of the cost for color reproduction. If they decide not to pay for color reproduction, they can request that the figures be converted to black and white at no charge.

Tables
Create tables using the table-creating and editing feature of your word processing software (e.g., Word, GoogleDocs). Do not use Excel or comparable spreadsheet programs. Tables should generally be very neat and readable. For example, tables made with separate columns for each number type (e.g. N (%) requires two columns, N justified to the right, (%) justified to the left) are usually easier to read. Group all tables in a separate file. Cite tables consecutively in the text, and number them in that order. Each table should appear on a separate sheet and should include the table title, appropriate column heads, and explanatory legends (including definitions of any abbreviations used). Do not embed tables within the body of the manuscript. They should be self-explanatory and should complement, rather than duplicate, the material in the text. Only key findings from tables that the authors wish to highlight should be addressed in the text.

Supplemental Digital Content (SDC)
Authors may submit SDC via Editorial Manager to LWW journals that enhance their article's text to be considered for online posting. SDC may include standard media such as text documents, graphs, audio, video, etc. On the Attach Files page of the submission process, please select Supplemental Audio, Video, or Data for your uploaded file as the Submission Item. If an article with SDC is accepted, our production staff will create a URL with the SDC file. The URL will be placed in the call-out within the article. SDC files are not copy-edited by LWW staff, they will be presented digitally as submitted.

SDC Call-Outs
Supplemental digital content must be cited consecutively in the text of the submitted manuscript. Citations should include the type of material submitted (Audio, Figure, Table, etc.), be clearly labeled as "Supplemental Digital Content," include the sequential list number, and provide a description of the supplemental content. All descriptive text should be included in the call-out as it will not appear elsewhere in the article. Example: We performed many tests on the degrees of flexibility in the elbow (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, which demonstrates elbow flexibility) and found our results inconclusive.

List of Supplemental Digital Content
A listing of Supplemental Digital Content must be submitted at the end of the manuscript file. Include the SDC number and file type of the Supplemental Digital Content. This text will be removed by our production staff and not be published. Example: Supplemental Digital Content 1.wmv

SDC File Requirements
All acceptable file types are permissible up to 10 MBs. For audio or video files greater than 10 MBs, authors should first query the journal office for approval. For a list of all available file types and detailed instructions, please visit: https://sites.google.com/site/lwwsdcauthorchecklist/home/file-requirements

Notes/Case Reports
These are brief articles that do not warrant a full-length paper, usually not more than 1,500 words. A title page is required, followed by a short summary (a few sentences, <30 words) and an abstract of less than 50 words (do not use separate subheads). List three to five key words. All text should be in one section. Several paragraphs are permissible. Separate headings (Introduction, Materials and Methods, etc.) should not be used for case reports, but may be used for notes. One table or figure may be submitted. Permission is required to submit >2 tables/figures.

Reviews
A title page and short summary are required. If a narrative review, the title should include the words "Narrative Review". Abstract (do not use separate subheads) should be approximately 250 words that summarize the basic content of the review. Authors are encouraged to keep review articles to less than 3500 words. If this is not possible, the author must provide an explanation in the cover letter to the editor. If authors have >30 references, then extra references should be submitted as "supplemental content."

Editorials/Commentaries
A title page is required. Do not submit an abstract or short summary. Editorials are invited submissions. Commentaries may be invited or unsolicited. Generally, unsolicited Commentaries should be discussed with the Editor prior to submission. Editorials are limited to approximately 1,500 words. Commentaries are limited to approximately 2,000 words. Editorials/Commentaries are typically limited to 1 table or 1 figure.

Letters
A letter should not exceed 500 words. A title page is required. Do not submit an abstract or short summary. For letters commenting on recently published articles, the letter should reference the particular article. The reference section should be kept to a minimum.

Photographs
Do not submit a title page, abstract or short summary. Photographs may be submitted as color (no charge for this type of submission) or black and white. A brief description or explanatory text must be submitted along with the photograph. Limit the text to a few sentences.

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Page proofs and corrections

Corresponding authors will receive electronic page proofs to check the copyedited and typeset article before publication. Portable document format (PDF) files of the typeset pages and support documents (e.g., reprint order form) will be sent to the corresponding author by e-mail. Complete instructions will be provided with the e-mail for downloading and printing the files and for e-mailing/faxing the corrected page proofs to the publisher. It is the author's responsibility to ensure that there are no errors in the proofs. Changes that have been made to conform to journal style will stand if they do not alter the authors' meaning. Only the most critical changes to the accuracy of the content will be made. Changes that are stylistic or are a reworking of previously accepted material would be disallowed. The publisher reserves the right to deny any changes that do not affect the accuracy of the content. Authors may be charged for alterations to the proofs beyond those required to correct errors or to answer queries. Proofs must be checked carefully and corrections returned within 24 to 48 hours of receipt, as requested in the cover letter accompanying the page proofs.

Open Access
Open access (OP) allows articles published in STD to be made freely available to read, download and share from the time of publication. Authors must sign a Creative Commons user license and pay an OP publication charge. For more information go to: STD Open Access

Page Charges
STD does not have page charges for published articles (online or print). Figures, photographs and tables will be printed in black and white. However, color reproduction is possible. This request can be made during the proof stage. The production department will determine this cost.

Publication
All articles will be published online http://www.stdjournal.com  within 1 week of acceptance.  The version posted online is the final accepted manuscript and has not been proofed.  These articles will be listed as "ahead of print citations" in PubMed. Once the article is print published, the information will be updated in PubMed.

Reprints
The journal does not provide to the author a pdf or reprint of their article. Authors will receive a reprint order form and a price list with the page proofs. Reprint requests should be e-mailed/faxed to the publisher with the corrected proofs, if possible. Reprints are normally shipped 6 to 8 weeks after publication of the issue in which the item appears.
For reprints of articles published more than one year ago or questions, please contact Wolters Kluwer Author Reprint Customer Service or call 1-866-903-6951.

Rights and Permissions
Permission is needed to publish any figures or tables (as is or adapted), or to re-use an abstract or portion of text from your published article. Information on how to request permission can be found at Rightslink.
To obtain permission to reproduce your article, go to the STD website, find your article, then click on the link "Request Permissions" and fill out the online form.

Publisher's contact
E-mail or fax corrected page proofs, reprint order form, and any other related materials to Proof Manager, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 410-691-6235. Color proofs should be returned to Proof Manager, Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Cadmus Professional Communications, 8621 Robert Fulton Drive, Columbia, MD 21046.

Editor's contact
STD Editorial Office: [email protected]
Editor's Office: William C. Miller, MD, PhD, MPH; Editor-in-Chief; The Ohio State University; 1841 Neil Ave; 302 Cunz Hall; Columbus, OH 43210