Avian Diseases
Guidelines for Authors

General Information

Mission

Avian Diseases is an international journal dedicated to publishing original basic or clinical research of the highest quality from various disciplines including microbiology, immunology, pathology, and epidemiology. Papers on avian diseases relevant to etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and control are accepted. Manuscripts dealing with avian species other than poultry will be considered only if the subject is relevant to poultry health. The mission is to enhance scientific knowledge and promote poultry health.

Original Manuscripts Only

Avian Diseases will consider only original manuscripts not published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Abstracts printed as a part of the program of a meeting will not be considered as a prior publication. However, if the text, tables, and figures appear to be the same as that published elsewhere, Avian Diseases will not consider the manuscript. Authors should disclose the use of any artificial intelligence (AI) platform in preparing the manuscript.

Reviewers

All manuscripts are reviewed by the Editor and two or more members of the Editorial Board or other scholars selected by the Editor. During the submission process, the submitting author should provide the names and contact information of three potential reviewers for the manuscript. The suggested reviewers should not be collaborators of any of the authors or from the same institution as any of the authors of the submitted manuscript. They do not have to be members of the Editorial Board. The Editor is not obligated to use any of the proposed reviewer. The editor-in-chief and associate editors will avoid all conflicts of interest, for example, in assigning manuscripts to reviewers or any other business related to the journal.

Copyright

Avian Diseases is copyrighted by the American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) and authors must sign a copyright transfer form before articles are published. The corresponding author must complete a copyright agreement form and page charge agreement form as part of the submission process. He or she will need to login using his/her username and password for this purpose. U.S. Government employees are exempt from this requirement if the work is considered part of their official duties.

The AAAP grants the following rights to the corresponding authors of the articles published in Avian Diseases: reproduce the article by photocopying, reprint portions or the entire article in print or other media, display the article in public, incorporate the article in course packs, place the article in a digital repository or archive owned by the employee’s institution, or compile the article into a larger scholarly work. Reprinting and reproduction of the article or parts of the article in any form and in any language must clearly display a complete reference to its original publication in Avian Diseases.

For National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored publications, Avian Diseases grants the corresponding author permission to provide a copy of the accepted manuscript to the NIH upon acceptance for publication, with public release in PubMed Central, twelve months after final print publication by the journal.

Open Access Option
Avian Diseases offers a choice for authors to publish Open Access (OA). There will be a charge for each submitted article submitted as OA of $1,500 for members and $2,000 for non-members. Please contact the office at [email protected] to arrange open access for your article.

Manuscript Instructions

The manuscript submission website for Avian Diseases is https://www.editorialmanager.com/aviandiseases.

Cover Letter

Submit a cover letter separate from the manuscript. It should be addressed to the Editor, requesting publication of the article in Avian Diseases. Include any pertinent information that will be helpful in evaluating the suitability of the article.

Manuscript Format

All text must be double-spaced using 12-point type in Times New Roman font on 8½ by 11-inch pages. Manuscript files should be in Word (.doc or .docx) formats. PDF format is not acceptable for the source file of the text of the manuscript. The PeerTrack system will automatically merge the text file that the author uploads with the figure and table files to make one article file PDF. This allows editors and reviewers to view and/or download the manuscript in one easy step.

Line Numbering

Beginning with the title page, manuscripts should include continuous line numbering on the left margin of each page.

Title Page

The first page of the article file should be the title page. The title should be brief, accurate, and clear. Preferably, it should not contain verbs. All authors should be listed; omit academic degrees, but give affiliation and address, including zip code or postal code. Indicate the corresponding author and include a complete mailing address and email address. A short title is also required. Although not printed, this is used when generating reports.

Summary

The summary follows immediately after the title page. Keep it close to 3% of the paper, conveying the gist when read independently. Give meaningful facts instead of generalities. All summaries are translated into an international version of Spanish by Avian Diseases. Author-supplied translations help in the formulation of the international version.

Key Words/Index Terms

Provide not more than six to eight key words or index terms after the summary.

Abbreviations

Define the abbreviations used in the manuscript in alphabetic order, after the key words.

Highlights

Each submission should be accompanied with a highlight statement on a separate page. They consist of 3-5 bullets, 1-2 brief sentences each. Highlights increase the discoverability of the article by search engines and will assist readers in identifying papers of interest.

Introduction

State the problem and reason for presenting findings.

Materials and Methods

Describe general materials and methods once. The experimental design should be described clearly and in enough detail for another researcher to duplicate the experiment. Be clear and explicit about relevant details.

Materials/equipment used in conduct of the research should be identified and the manufacturers of equipment listed by name and address. This requirement applies also to biologics used unless a justifiable reason is presented to the Editor.

Results

Present results in logical rather than chronologic order, usually with subheads.

Discussion

If no discussion is needed, do not discuss. Cover implications of your findings or relate them to major problems in the field. Do not use data not given in the results.

References

• Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the reference list. Do not list a source unless it has been published or accepted for publication and the name of the journal can be given.
• Cite only scientific URLs.
• Follow the citation-sequence format in Scientific Style and Format, 8th ed., from the Council of Science Editors.
  • Number sources in consecutive order as they are first mentioned in the text.
  • Number citations in figure captions or tables according to the placement of the figure or table in text.
  • List up to and including 10 authors, then use et al.
• Double space throughout.
• Do not underline anything.
• Italicize Genus species if it is done so in the source article.
• Cite sources in text by numbers in parentheses; e.g., (3,4,5).
• Cite unpublished work or personal communications in parentheses within the body of the text and do not include them in the reference list. At initial submission, upload a letter (as a second cover letter) stating the facts from the person cited in the personal communication.

Misuse of references will not be tolerated and could be grounds for rejection of a submitted manuscript.

Following are examples of the most common reference types (reference numbering has been omitted).

Journal article

Pyles R B, Jezek GE, Eaves-Pyles TD. Toll-like receptor 3 agonist protection against experimental Francisella tularensis respiratory tract infection. Infect Immun. 78:1700–1710; 2010.

Article in press

Hofmeister EK, Balakrishnan CN, Atkinson CT. Population differences insusceptibility to Plasmodium relictum in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata. Avian Dis. Forthcoming 2018 Dec.

Book

Dufour-Zavala L. A laboratory manual for the isolation, identification, and characterization of avian pathogens. 5th ed. Athens (GA): American Association of Avian Pathologists; 2008.

Chapter in a book

Smyth, V. Avian astroviruses. In: Liu D, editor. Molecular detection of animal viral pathogens. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press. p. 101–109; 2016.

Thesis or dissertation

Maxted, AM. Avian influenza viruses in shorebird hosts at the Delaware Bay migratory stopover site [dissertation]. [Athens (GA)]: University of Georgia; 2012.

Foreign publication

• Retain the foreign language title if the language uses the Roman alphabet; otherwise, put the English translation in brackets.

Tosi G, Taddei R, Barbier I, Fiorentini L, Massi P. Caratterizzazione molecolare dei ceppi di virus della bronchite infettiva aviare isolati in Italia nel periodo 2007–2009 e nel primo bimestre del 2010. In: G. Tosi, editor. Atti della Società Italiana di Patologia Aviare, XLIX Convegno Annuale Apr 29–30; Forlì, (Italy). p. 217–223. Italian. 2010.

Dou YG, Chen H, Zheng XQ, Yu XL, Yang J, Niu XY, Diao YX. [Establishment and application of a nested PCR assay for detection of duck parvovirus.] Chin J Vet Sci. 9:1706–1709. Chinese. 2016.

Conference Proceedings

Brash M, Ojkic D, Ouckama R, Long K, Weisz A. Etiologic investigations into white chick syndrome in Ontario. In: Frame, DD, editor. Proceedings of the 65th Western Poultry Disease Conference; 2016 Apr 24–27; Vancouver (Canada). Jacksonville (FL): American Association of Avian Pathologists. p. 30–31; 2016.

Legal documents

[CEC] Commission of the European Communities. Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1798/95 of July 25, 1995 amending Annex IV to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 laying down a community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin. Off J Eur Union; L174:20–21; 1995.

Preventive Health Amendments of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-183, 107 Stat. 2226 (Dec 14, 1993).

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in shell eggs during production, storage, and transportation; final rule. Fed Regist. 74:33029–33101; 2009.

Online sources

• Try to specify all the elements listed. Begin with the information used in a print reference, then add information specific to online sources; e.g., modified and accessed dates for sources without DOIs.
• Because websites can change and some do not include all the information required, keep copies (e.g., printout, screen shot) of sources that do not include DOIs.

Journal

Ornelas IM, Silva TM, Fragel-Madeira L, Ventura AL. Inhibition of PI3K/Akt pathway impairs G2/M transition of cell cycle in late developing progenitors of the avian embryo retina. PLOS ONE 8:e53517; 2013. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053517 2013.

Tochetto C, Lima DA, Varela APM, Loiko MR, Paim WP, Scheffer CM, Herpich JI, Cerva C, Schmidt C, Cibulski SP, et al. Full-genome sequence of porcine circovirus type 3 recovered from serum of sows with stillbirths in Brazil. Transbound Emerg Dis. [Epub ahead of print; accessed 2017 May 31]; 2017. doi:10.1111/tbed.12735.

Book

[OIE] World Organisation for Animal Health. Chapter 2.3.4. Avian influenza(infection with avian influenza viruses). In: Manual of diagnostic tests and vaccines for terrestrial animals. Paris (France): OIE [modified 2015 May; accessed 2018 Oct 4]. http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/tahm/2.03.04_AI.pdf; 2014.

Software

R Core Team. R: a language and environment for statistical computing, version 3.3.2. Vienna (Austria): R Foundation for Statistical Computing. http://www.R-project.org/; 2016.

Report

[OIE] World Organisation for Animal Health. OIE Situation Report for Avian Influenza. Paris (France): OIE [modified 2018 Jan 25; accessed 2018 Aug 28]. http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Animal_Health_in_the_World/docs/pdf/OIE_AI_situation_report/OIE_SituationReport_AI_January2018_01.pdf; 2018.

Database

World Animal Health Database (WAH Information System Interface). Avian infectious bronchitis in Serbia, 2005–2009. Paris (France): OIE [updated 2013 Dec 30; accessed 2017 Jan 13]. http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wahid.php/Countryinformation/Countrytimelines; 2013.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments, which follow the references, should be brief.

Humane Care of Animals

The AAAP is supportive of the humane care and treatment of all animals. If experimental animals are subjected to painful or harmful conditions, the author(s) must indicate in the text that the procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee or a comparable animal welfare committee. Questionable manuscripts will not be processed for publication.

Other Publishable Materials

These publications include reviews, research notes, case reports, editorials, letters to the editor, history articles, and AAAP White Papers.

Reviews

These are concise treatments dealing with subjects of interest to the readership of Avian Diseases. Reviews should be documented with reference materials. The format and length will depend on the subject matter.

Research Notes

These are reports dealing with a limited subject but must follow the format of a regular manuscript to enable other researchers to reproduce the reported results.

Case Reports

These are reports dealing with a limited subject but must follow the format of a regular manuscript to enable other researchers to reproduce the reported results.

• Case includes more than one bird unless information is exceptional.
• Clear and concise but contains complete description of case history.
• Case supported by appropriate and fully described laboratory tests.
• Epidemiologic and statistical data presented.
• High quality images of clinical signs, gross lesions, histopathology, and other pertinent images.
• Response to treatments or prevention/control measures.
• Any follow up information.

Editorials

These are discussions of current issues, providing specific views on a subject of interest.

Letters to the Editor

Letters regarding material published in Avian Diseases or topics of interest to Avian Diseases readership are accepted for publication. The Editor might ask others to provide responses to the letters.

History Articles

These are written versions of the History Lectures presented at the AAAP annual meetings. They are authored by the lecture presenters.

White Papers

These are position statements of the AAAP on current important issues. Authored by members of the AAAP, approved by the AAAP Board, and reviewed by the editors for scientific content

Chemical Nomenclature

Because formulations change, trade or code names must be followed by chemical names of active ingredients.

Tables

Tables are typed double-spaced throughout; they must not contain any vertical rules. Tables should be well planned and concise, and tell a story; lack of planning may obscure the significance of your findings. Where possible, combine data. Tables may be placed at the end of the article file or in separate files. Table headings should be complete enough for data to be understandable without referring to the text. Tables must be submitted in .doc, .docx, .xls, or .xlsx formats. If tables are submitted as separate files, add table captions on the last page of the article file.

Figures

Illustrations of high quality should be submitted electronically as separate files. The figure number should be clearly indicated in the name of the file. When submitting illustrations to Avian Diseases, keep in mind that the journal uses a two-column format. Figures will be reduced in size to fit into one or two columns. The width of one column is approximately 3.5 inches (8.9 cm). The width of two columns is approximately 7.25 inches (18.4 cm). The maximum height of a figure is 9.5 inches (24.1 cm). Lettering should be scaled so that it will be legible if the illustration is reduced in size to fit the page. Figure captions should be listed together on a separate page in the text file after the references and/or tables.

Graphic files must be uploaded as PDF, TIFF, JPEG, or EPS files. Digital color files must be in CMYK mode. A minimum resolution of 300 dpi is required for all halftones and color images in print. Line art, such as graphs, require 1200 dpi in order to produce high-quality images in print. The authors will be asked to redo all artwork that is considered unacceptable for printing. This may delay publication. If the author selects a color option then images should be submitted in color; several color images may be mounted in one color plate. If the author does not choose a color option, submit images in black and white.

Graphs and charts should have clearly labeled axes that include the calibration. Symbols and abbreviations should be explained in the caption. Photomicrographs should include a size bar.

For more details on general style, consult back issues of Avian Diseases and Scientific Style and Format, 8th ed.

Supplemental Materials

Authors are encouraged to provide supplemental material files to enhance the content of their articles submitted to Avian Diseases. These supplemental files will be available to online subscribers of the journal and a link referred to in the print copy of Avian Diseases. Multiple files can accompany an article, to include data sets; extensive tables; multimedia such as animation, sound, or video files; and other additional supporting material. Although the supplemental files must be relevant to the journal article, they are intended only to support the primary content presented in the article, which must be self-contained and stand on its own. Acceptance for publication will be based solely on the content of the article.

Authors are expected to supply supplemental material files in their final format in terms of editing, proofreading, and style and organization of content. The AAAP and Allen Press are not responsible for the content of the supplemental files and cannot verify their quality, integrity, and usability.

• Use accessible file formats and extensions or those for which plug-ins are available for free.
• With the exception of some executable files such as those with .exe or .vbs filename extensions, most standard formats are permitted. Consult with the Avian Diseases office [email protected] if you have questions about the suitability of a file.
• Submit the files in download-ready format when offline use is intended.
• Each supplemental file should be self-contained without internal links to other files or sites.
• Files should be accessible across platforms (e.g., PC and Mac).
• Be conscious of download speeds and keep file sizes to a minimum where it is practical to do so.
• If multiple supplemental material files accompany an article, consider including an ASCII README file to describe the number and type of files and their contents, and to include any special instructions or author contact information.
• All text must be in English.

File Submission Guidelines

• Supplemental material files should be submitted concurrently with the article text and figures. Although acceptance for publication will be determined solely by the content of the article, reviewers will have the opportunity to review all related materials, if they wish.
• The total size of all files uploaded for an article (to include manuscript, art, and supplemental files) cannot exceed 400 MB.
• Copyright clearance and release statements signed by the authors pertain to all supplemental materials as well as to the article. Where permission has been received to reuse material or where credit should be given as a matter of courtesy, appropriate acknowledgment must be so stated within the relevant materials, to include the original source, copyright owner, and year.

• Number related elements consecutively: Supplemental Fig. S1, S2; Supplemental Video S1, S2; Supplemental Table S1, S2; Supplemental Data S1, S2.
• Match filenames to the supplemental materials citation in the text: Table_S1.xls; Supp_Data_S1.pdf.
• Text citations will link to the supplemental material file: “... and additional data are shown in Supplemental Data S1”; or “... go to the Supplemental Materials link that accompanies the electronic version of this article at www.aaapjournals.info .”
• Ensure that updated versions of your supplemental material files are submitted and maintain copies of the final files. The AAAP will not revise or update files after publication.
• No additional fees are charged for including supplemental materials with an article.