Letters to the editor on the Zika virus: a bibliometric analysis.

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Public Health
• Bibliometrics

Background:

• The Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged as a significant global health concern, prompting extensive scientific communication.
• Letters to the Editor represent a unique format for rapid dissemination of observations and opinions within the scientific community.

Purpose of the Study:

• To perform a bibliometric analysis of Letters to the Editor concerning the Zika virus published between 1952 and 2018.
• To characterize the trends, content categories, and publication characteristics of these letters.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive PubMed search was conducted for "Zika" or "ZIKV" from 1952-2018, limited to the publication type "Letter."
• Letters were categorized into Reader Response, Author Reply, Observation, Case Report, or Research, with analysis of author count, references, graphics, and funding.
• Citation reports were generated to identify highly cited letters.

Main Results:

• A total of 499 Letters were analyzed, with a significant peak of 244 (48.9%) published in 2016 during the epidemic.
• The majority of letters were Reader Responses (29.9%) and Observations/Research (22.4% each), with most having 1-5 authors.
• While 38.5% included graphics and 15.4% reported funding, an anomaly was the 20.8% of letters authored by a single individual.

Conclusions:

• Letters to the Editor are a crucial element of scientific discourse, particularly during public health crises like the Zika virus outbreak.
• These letters provide valuable clinical and research insights, contributing significantly to the scientific record.