What is the Impact Factor of PLoS Pathogens?

According to the latest Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (JCR), the Journal Impact Factor of PLoS Pathogens is 4.90, ranking in quartile Q2 of Web of Science (SCIE).

Is PLoS Pathogens indexed in Web of Science or Scopus?

Yes, PLoS Pathogens is indexed in Web of Science (SCIE, Q2 quartile). Furthermore, in Scopus (SCImago), it holds an SJR rating of 1.932 (Q1) and an H-index of 274.

Who publishes PLoS Pathogens and what is the Article Processing Charge (APC)?

PLoS Pathogens is published by Public Library of Science. The estimated Article Processing Charge (APC) is approximately $3,865 USD, subject to institutional waivers and corresponding author affiliations.

What is the ISO-4 abbreviation and acronym of PLoS Pathogens?

The official ISO-4 abbreviation of PLoS Pathogens is "PLOS PATHOG" with common acronym "ppathogens". This standardized title abbreviation is used in citation lists conforming to IEEE, APA, Harvard, or Vancouver styles.

WoS SCIE Q2Scopus Q1SCImago #1,545Top JournalGold OA

PLoS Pathogens

Acronym:ppathogens

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Abbreviation (ISO):PLOS PATHOG

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Identifier (ISSN):1553-7366(Print)/1553-7374(Online)

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Publisher:Public Library of Science

Official Website Submission Portal Compare

Clarivate IF (2026)

4.9– 0

Journal Impact Factor

IF Trend↓

WoS Quartile

WoS SCIETop Tier

Clarivate WoS JCR

WoS Categories↓

JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2018–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for PLoS Pathogens

WoS Q2

Annual Impact Factor Metric

Current (2026):4.9

Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q1

1.932

#1,545

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025

H-Index (2025)

274

274 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: SCIE / JCRTop Tier

Self-Citation Rate3.6%

Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)

Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.

Volume & Open AccessGold OA

808articles/year

100% Gold OA•94.84% Original Research

Aims & Scope

Bacteria, fungi, parasites, prions and viruses cause a plethora of diseases that have important medical, agricultural, and economic consequences. Moreover, the study of microbes continues to provide novel insights into such fundamental processes as the molecular basis of cellular and organismal function.

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)

BiologyGeneticsChemistryMedicineBiochemistryImmunologyVirologyCell BiologyInternal MedicineMicrobiologyImmune SystemPathologyGeologyPaleontology

Primary Research Areas

Biology Virology

Official Website NLM PubMed Catalog Submission Portal SCImago Profile

0 calls

Special Issues

Calls for Papers

No active Calls for Papers found for this journal.

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WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI

JCRSCIE2026

MICROBIOLOGY

Rank49/167

IndexSCIE

JCRSCIE2026

PARASITOLOGY

Rank4/47

IndexSCIE

JCRSCIE2026

VIROLOGY

Rank5/44

IndexSCIE

JCISCIE2026

MICROBIOLOGY

Rank23/167

IndexSCIE

JCISCIE2026

PARASITOLOGY

Rank3/47

IndexSCIE

JCISCIE2026

VIROLOGY

Rank3/44

IndexSCIE

Category	Index	Rank	Quartile
MICROBIOLOGY	JCRSCIE	49/167	Q2
PARASITOLOGY	JCRSCIE	4/47	Q1
VIROLOGY	JCRSCIE	5/44	Q1
MICROBIOLOGY	JCISCIE	23/167	Q1
PARASITOLOGY	JCISCIE	3/47	Q1
VIROLOGY	JCISCIE	3/44	Q1

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year

2026Latest

IF4.9

Articles / Year668

Total Citations414

2025

IF4.9

Articles / Year767

Total Citations3,472

2024

IF5.5

Articles / Year704

Total Citations7,659

2023

IF6.7

Articles / Year660

Total Citations12,192

2022

IF7.464

Articles / Year661

Total Citations17,765

Year	Impact Factor	Articles / Year	Total Citations
2026	4.9	668	414
2025	4.9	767	3,472
2024	5.5	704	7,659
2023	6.7	660	12,192
2022	7.464	661	17,765
2021	6.823	842	32,503
2020	6.218	730	34,980
2019	6.463	563	29,452
2018	6.158	605	36,062
2017	—	676	50,128
2016	—	759	53,477
2015	—	772	60,069

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #1,545Scopus Q1SCImago Profile

Scopus Coverage:2005-2026

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Scopus Broad Areas:Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyImmunology and Microbiology

Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q1

1.932

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q1

Citations / Doc (2 years)

4.81

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window

Estimated Publication Fee (APC)

$3,865 USD

Estimated Article Processing Charge for Open Access publication.

Estimated cost / article

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations10,054

3-Year Documents1,976

Citable Documents1,965

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)3

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate44.9%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

GeneticsQ1

ImmunologyQ1

MicrobiologyQ1

Molecular BiologyQ1

ParasitologyQ1

VirologyQ1

Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth

Self-citation: 3.6%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):

2区 (Zone 2)Medicine

Minor Category (Specific Field):

1区MICROBIOLOGY

CAS Early Warning List History:

Updated annually: 2020 – 2024

2020

Not warned

2021

Not warned

2022

Not warned

2023

Not warned

2024

Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

PLoS Pathogens (acronym: ppathogens, abbr: PLOS PATHOG, ISSN: 1553-7366) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of Biology, published by Public Library of Science in United States since 2005. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 4.90, ranking in quartile Q2 of Web of Science (SCIE), a Scopus SJR indicator of 1.932 (Q1), an H-index of 274.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with a publication frequency of Monthly, an annual output of approximately 808 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Gold OA model with an estimated APC of $3,865 USD. It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.