PONE-D-19-34975

Enterovirus D68 seroepidemiology in Taiwan, a cross sectional study in 2017

PLOS ONE

Dear Prof. Chang,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE.

Your manuscript has now been reviewed by two experts in the field. One of them also reviewed your previous paper on the same topic. While bother reviewers are supportive of publicaion, they have also raised substantive concerns about the presentation and technical quality of your work. Particularly, it was felt that the prresentation should be substantially improved by seeking the help from a professional or native writer. In addition, one reviewer suggested reanalysis of some data (e.g. Table 2) using another method. 

After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

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We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Dong-Yan Jin

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments:

Please address the concerns raised satisfactorily as they might re-review your revised manuscript.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: The logic of data analysis is wrong, hence, the results maybe not right.

To analyse the risk factor for the infection, firstly, the univariate analysis maybe applied, if the P<0.2, the factor is entered into multivariate analysis, if P>=0.2, the factor can not be entered into multivariate analysis. Only in multivariate analysis, the dummy variable be needed and meanly meaningful. Hence, please reanalyze data (for instance, table 2).

The reference maybe useful for you. ”Risk factors for Blastocystis infection in HIV/AIDS patients with highly active antiretroviral therapy in Southwest China”.

Reviewer #2: The study by Lee et al describes a serosurvey of EV-D68 neutralising antibodies among the Taiwanese population as well as trying to identify factors associated with seropositivity. The study was well-designed and the cohort size was substantial. Results demonstrate a remarkably high overall seropositivity in an age-dependent manner similar to results of other studies.

Comments:

Importantly, the manuscript should be proof read by a native English speaker as there are many grammatical or inaccuracies throughout the manuscript. This would improve the readability and clarity of the manuscript considerably.

- Table 1: in the age category, please add ages to the adult women/men category.

- Table 3: The study in the Netherlands investigated neutralizing Abs against two EV-D68 strains, please indicate to which data (Fermon strain or B3 clinical) is referred to in this table. It would be helpful to indicate for each study, which D68 strain was used.

- The data from table 3 could also be presented in a chart allowing for an easier comparison of the seropositivity

- Fig. 1: I would suggest bar graphs instead of a connected line. Since the average for all investigated areas is given, please show also the mean +- SD.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Enterovirus D68 seroepidemiology in Taiwan, a cross sectional study in 2017

PONE-D-19-34975R1

Dear Dr. Chang,

Thank you for submitting your revised manuscript.

I have read your response and your paper carefully. I am convinced that you have satisfactorily addressed all concerns raised by the two reviewers. I am also sure that your paper merits publication although there is an earlier study of yours  on this topic. Documentation of the new dataset is fully justified. 

Therefore, we are pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it complies with all outstanding technical requirements.

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With kind regards,

Dong-Yan Jin

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments:

Well done!

Reviewers' comments: