Preprints: An underutilized mechanism to accelerate outbreak science

Johansson, Michael A.; Reich, Nicholas G.; Meyers, Lauren Ancel; Lipsitch, Marc

Preprints were increasingly used to disseminate new data during the Zika outbreak. Among the subset of preprints matched to journal articles described above, the proportion of preprints including original data increased substantially from 7% for Ebola to 46% for Zika (difference: 40%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 25% to 54%, 2-sample test of proportions). While a minority of preprints contained new data, the majority of preprints in both outbreaks included novel analyses, 84% for Ebola and 94% for Zika (estimated difference: 10%, 95% CI −4% to 23%). The remainder were comprised of opinions, proposals for new lines of study, or research indirectly related to Ebola or Zika. The increase in data sharing between epidemics appears to represent a shift away from waiting for peer review and towards rapidly reported, open science. This shift should enable other researchers to build upon those findings and recognize the high value of data sharing (academic and otherwise), a common challenge in the midst of outbreaks.