All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows others to copy, share, adapt, and build upon the work for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors and source. This license is widely recognized by funders.

Open licensing increases the reach of air and water borne disease research by allowing clinicians, educators, and policy teams to reuse material in training, guidelines, and public health communications. Proper attribution ensures authors receive credit and maintains the integrity of the scholarly record.

Under CC BY 4.0, readers may translate your article, reuse figures in presentations, or incorporate findings into outbreak response guidance, as long as the original authors and journal are credited. Adaptations must clearly indicate that changes were made. This flexibility accelerates the clinical and public health uptake of research while preserving the author record.

Authors retain copyright in their work. By publishing in the journal, authors grant the publisher a license to publish and distribute the article and to identify itself as the original publisher. The corresponding author confirms the license on behalf of all co authors. Authors must ensure that all co authors approve the final version and agree to the licensing terms.

If your manuscript includes figures, tables, or images from other sources, you must secure written permission from the copyright holder before submission. Provide proof of permission and include the appropriate credit line in the caption. Material not covered by CC BY 4.0 should be clearly labeled to prevent unintended reuse.

Authors may deposit the published version of their article in institutional repositories, funder archives, or personal websites, provided the citation and license details are included. This supports compliance with open access mandates and increases discoverability in academic repositories.

Reuse of published content must include a full citation to the original article, the author names, journal title, and a link to the license. Adaptations should clearly indicate that changes were made. Proper attribution protects author reputation and supports accurate citation tracking.

CC BY 4.0 allows commercial and educational reuse, provided attribution is maintained. This enables use in clinical training, public health education, and industry research without unnecessary barriers. Authors who have specific funder requirements should disclose them at submission so licensing details can be confirmed.

Many funders require open access with specific licensing language. If your funding body or institution has additional requirements, inform the editorial office at submission. We will work with you to ensure that the published license statement satisfies those mandates without delaying publication.

Open access licensing does not permit misrepresentation. Users must not imply author endorsement of derivative work, and the integrity of the original findings must be respected. If misuse or misattribution is identified, the journal may request corrections or removal.

When corrections or updates are issued, the journal uses version control to ensure the most accurate record is available. Readers should refer to the latest version for citation. Licensing applies to all versions of the article unless otherwise noted.

If you need a custom attribution line, have questions about third party content, or need help meeting funder mandates, contact the editorial office before submission. We can also provide sample attribution language for slides, training materials, and public health guidance.