Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica: New stage, new challenges

With this issue, the journal Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica is starting a new editorial stage with important changes. The first will consist of leaving behind the print edition and replacing it with an exclusively electronic format. Although this topic does not seem like the best news to start the first editorial article of the year, it must be kept in mind that right now communication, including scientific communication and that dedicated to biomedicine, takes place mostly through social media and on electronic platforms. Therefore, publishing in print, in addition to the additional cost of printing itself, is now considered as a largely obsolete instrument within scientific publications.

Along the entire road travelled thus far, it is necessary to leave behind the print edition that was subsidised until now by the Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica [Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology] (SEIMC), since they can no longer financially cover all aspects and it is now essential to set priorities. Professionals need to choose the scientific literature that lets them research more effectively, as well as stay up-to-date, and it is the electronic versions that gives them the personal savings in time and effort. It has always been this way, but technology has made it clear that the value of a single electronic article has surpassed the value of a paper issue that groups a set of articles.

Beyond the sentimental aspects that publishing a scientific article on paper may have, the journal's Editorial Board, and the SEIMC itself, for which the journal has been its official means of communication since 1987, believe that incorporating the current system of exclusive electronic editions is the best option at the present time. We are sure that all our members, the authors of the articles published in the journal, its subscribers, and its readers in general will understand the reasons that have led us to make this significant editorial change.

However, the most important editorial change is that the journal's content will be fully bilingual. Starting with this issue, the Spanish journal will also publish its translated contents entirely into English in its English version, which will be called Enfermedades infecciosas y Microbiología clínica (English ed.). In our opinion, this change is one that may be of enormous importance for the journal, since starting now all the contents will be available in Spanish and English, the two most used languages in the world for scientific publications in the biomedical field. It is worth indicating that the manuscripts originally received in English and later accepted for publication will only be incorporated in that issue to the journal's end summary. The journal's publisher, currently Elsevier España, S.L., will manage the entire into-English translation process for the manuscripts received and accepted in Spanish and an exhaustive review of those accepted in English. The manuscript authors will need to approve the final version of the manuscripts prior to publication, both those translated into English as well as those received in that language. The final reference for each manuscript in the bibliometric databases will always be the English version.

The journal is included in the two most prestigious and coveted databases currently registering the most significant biomedical literature being published, the Index Medicus (Medline/PubMed) where it was listed in 1989 and the Science Citation Index Expanded where it was listed in 2001, debuting with an impact factor of 0.869 in the 2003 Journal Citation Reports. At present, despite the enormous efforts put forth by the Editorial Boards and by all the authors who have contributed by publishing their articles in the journal, the impact factor has crossed the threshold of 2 in a single year (2014), and the publication has always been between the third and fourth quartile in the fields of Infectious Diseases or Microbiology. This does not exclude the enormous interest the journal rouses in numerous readers and researchers around the world, despite the significant limitation that many articles could only be accessed in Spanish and that abstract indices state that it was a scientific journal in Spanish, although as many members and readers know, a significant proportion of them have been published in English for many years.

It was upon arriving at this moment in the journal's history that the SEIMC, along with the Editorial Board, believed that the journal had reached one of its tipping points along its long journey. The questions asked were simple: What needs to be done for Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica to take a step forward? Can the impact factor be more competitive than it is now? In any case, the answers to these questions may not lead to the essence and fundamental values that have always guided the journal in its characteristic editorial endeavours.

Starting a few years ago, other Spanish publications had already started down this path of translating their contents into English to extend their visibility to the rest of the world, and as a result, increase their chances of being cited. However, it is not just this aspect that is important, but also that the journal reach the Research Centres, Universities and Corporations worldwide who are directly involved in biomedical research. Today, it is the electronic platforms and content aggregators that are the highways and routes for making this important scientific information reach the rest of the scientific community, without forgetting the emerging prominence of social media. Therefore, Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica (English ed.) will also be available on ScienceDirect along with the rest of the journals in English for that specialty. This makes it possible to ensure that the potential subscribers or readers of its contents can multiply in this new scenario of visibility.

Once the reasons and justifications for the editorial changes are laid out, it is necessary to clearly establish what the journal's challenges will be in the coming years. Publishing simultaneously in Spanish and English does not mean immediately jumping from the fourth quartile in the Journal Citation Reports to the second quartile, where journals with an impact factor of 3 or more points are found. Indeed, it must first become firmly and continuously established in the third quartile, which is the mid-term goal set by the Society and which will be transmitted to the delegated Editorial Boards. Publishing all abstract contents in English and being listed as an English-language journal will instantly create a higher chance of it being consulted by the international scientific community, thereby also increasing its prestige and that of the SEIMC. It may also attract a larger number of authors interested in publishing in the journal, and possible make it easier for their published articles to be cited. Last but not least, the journal has a significant role in terms of the continuing training of healthcare professionals. Publishing the specific contents of this section in a bilingual format will allow it to offer specific training to a higher number of interested professionals anywhere on the planet. Maximising the dissemination of science and training healthcare professionals, in the field of infectious diseases and clinical microbiology, will continue to be the journal's main priorities, acting as the SEIMC's means of communication.

Lastly, please note that SEIMC members will be able to access both versions of the journal directly and free of charge through the Society's website, once your username and password have been verified to access the section SOCIOS (servicios y contenidos): Revista EIMC. They will also receive electronic abstracts in their inboxes each time another issue is published. A 6-month grace period will be established for all other readers, in which the contents will only be able to be accessed via a specific subscription or by purchasing a particular article.