Indian Journal Watch
27 October 2026
Peer-reviewed microbiology, infectious disease, AMR and infection-control papers from India and South Asia, published or added to PubMed from 25 to 27 October 2026.
Lead articles
Vaccines · International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Effectiveness of an Inactivated Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine in Children and Pregnant Women in Rural Bangladesh: A Phase IV Double-Blind, Cluster-Randomized Trial
International Journal of Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2026.109209 · PubMed 42933529
- What
- A trial of the effectiveness of a quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (QIV) among children under 5 and pregnant women in rural Bangladesh, led by icddr,b (Dhaka) with the Influenza Centre, University of Bergen, Norway.
- Design
- Phase IV, double-blind, cluster-randomised trial. Twenty villages in Matlab were randomised 1:1 to QIV or inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) as control. Vaccination took place between April and June 2021, with follow-up surveillance through December 2022. Seventy-five pregnant women (28-34 weeks of gestation) received one dose and 2,736 children aged 6-59 months received two doses at a 4-week interval. Influenza-like illnesses were tested by real-time RT-PCR.
- Key findings
- During the influenza B/Victoria wave (April-August 2021), adjusted total vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 77.4% (95% CI: 47.4-90.3) in children and 77.9% (95% CI: 48.9-90.5) among all participants. Only two laboratory-confirmed influenza cases occurred among pregnant women, both in the control group. VE was low and non-significant during the influenza A/H1N1 wave and negative during the A/H3N2 wave. No indirect protection was observed among unvaccinated villagers.
- Limitations
- The small number of events among pregnant women precluded a reliable estimate of VE in this subgroup, and protection was not demonstrated against the influenza A waves. The trial was conducted in one rural area (Matlab).
- Relevance to India
- The authors conclude that the findings support including influenza vaccination for children in national programmes. Routine childhood influenza vaccination is not currently part of India’s Universal Immunisation Programme, and these are randomised effectiveness data from a neighbouring South Asian setting.
AMR · Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology
Comparison of Meropenem-based triple therapy vs Minocycline-based Triple therapy for Carbapenem Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Ventilator Associated Pneumonia – A Prospective Observational Study
Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijmmb.2026.101327 · PubMed 42933694
- What
- A comparison of two triple-antibiotic regimens for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), from the Department of Anaesthesiology & Critical Care, AIIMS, Delhi, with co-authors including AIIMS, Nagpur.
- Design
- Prospective observational study in the critical care unit of an academic medical centre, January 2024 to March 2025. Two hundred adults with culture-proven CRAB-VAP were treated with either minocycline-polymyxin-sulbactam or meropenem-polymyxin-sulbactam. Outcomes were clinical recovery, 7- and 28-day mortality, microbiological eradication, and duration of ICU and hospital stay.
- Key findings
- Clinical recovery rates were comparable (54% minocycline vs 47% meropenem, p=0.322), and microbiological eradication was similar (39%) at day 28 in both groups. The minocycline group had significantly shorter ICU stay (16 vs 18 days, p=0.003) and hospital stay (24 vs 28 days, p<0.001). There was no significant difference in 7-day mortality (21% vs 32%, p=0.078) or 28-day mortality (46% vs 53%, p=0.322).
- Limitations
- Observational design without randomisation of the regimens, at a single critical care unit; the abstract does not describe how regimens were allocated or adjustment for baseline severity.
- Relevance to India
- The authors suggest minocycline may be a suitable alternative for CRAB-VAP in resource-limited settings. The study adds Indian ICU data on polymyxin-sulbactam-based combinations for CRAB.
More from the journals
Antimicrobial resistance & stewardship
- Islamabad laboratory network, 39,057 bloodstream and urinary culture records (2013-2025): Klebsiella carbapenem resistance increased from approximately 8% to 40%, and P. aeruginosa carbapenem resistance from approximately 10% to 30%.Pathogens · PubMed 42931218
- Global modelling with One Health Trust, Bengaluru (data from 114 countries): 10% lower antibiotic use would be associated with 38,000 (95% CI 36,000-41,000) fewer annual AMR-attributable deaths, 0.50% of estimated bacterial disease mortality.PLOS Medicine · PubMed 42932348
- Dhaka: all nine cefixime trihydrate tablet brands met USP potency and dissolution standards; seven of eight local brands (87.5%) met f1/f2 similarity criteria against the reference brand.The Scientific World Journal · PubMed 42929366
- Dhaka, ARCH study (icddr,b and US CDC), 768 community adults: public tap use rather than piped household water was associated with ESCrE colonisation (aOR 11.24; 95% CI 1.28-98.6) and MRSA colonisation (aOR 2.38).Open Forum Infectious Diseases
- Meta-analysis led from Atmiya University, Rajkot: pooled prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli in chickens was 31.44% (95% CI 23.81-39.07), highest in Asia (36.22%); blaCTX-M was the most frequent gene.British Poultry Science · PubMed 42929375
IPC & healthcare-associated infection
- Sri Ramachandra, Chennai: of 69 non-IBD adults with Clostridioides difficile infection, 89.9% were hospital-acquired, 76.6% had diabetes mellitus and mortality was 2.9%.Annals of African Medicine · PubMed 42932232
- Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi: article on timeliness versus diagnostic accuracy of non-directed bronchoalveolar lavage (ND-BAL) for pneumonia sampling in ICUs.BMJ Open Quality · PubMed 42933863
Vaccines
- Nepal national temperature monitoring study (2025, seven routes): vaccines were within 2-8 °C for 98.1% of monitored time in winter and 97.4% in summer, but below 2 °C for a cumulative 272.5 h, with one route recording -12.1 °C.Vaccines · PubMed 42931367
- Biological E, Hyderabad, post hoc analysis in Indian infants (603 of 650): pre-existing anti-diphtheria toxoid IgG was not associated with a consistent reduction in pneumococcal IgG responses to BE-PCV14 (GMRs 0.978 to 1.011).Vaccines · PubMed 42931383
- Indian multidisciplinary expert opinion on PCV20 in adults: single-dose PCV20 supported for adults aged ≥50 years and at-risk individuals aged 18-49 years, to complement national recommendations.Vaccines · PubMed 42931434
Tuberculosis & leprosy
- ICMR-NIRT, Chennai, 176 individuals: TB with type 2 diabetes showed raised CRP, SAA1, S100A8, S100A9, haptoglobin and α2M and altered TNF superfamily ligands, correlated with HbA1c.Medical Sciences · PubMed 42930532
- Leprosy Mission Community Hospital, Delhi: after 12 months of WHO-MDT, M. leprae 16S rRNA, esxA and hsp18 were detected in 40%, 45% and 46.6% of high-BI multibacillary patients.European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases · PubMed 42928317
- Rawalpindi: genome-wide DNA methylation array in eight people (active, latent and cured TB, and controls) found hypermethylated immune genes, including IFNA2, IL2 and IL21, persisting after cure.Iranian Journal of Biotechnology · PubMed 42928845
Vector-borne & parasitic disease
- Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu: heterozygous V1016G kdr mutation detected in Aedes aegypti, with no homozygous mutants and reduced susceptibility to pyrethroids in bioassays.Acta Parasitologica · PubMed 42932040
- Kashmir Valley: of 1,800 ticks from domestic ruminants, PCR positivity was 19/1,800 (1.06%) for Babesia spp. and 10/1,800 (0.56%) for Theileria spp.Acta Parasitologica · PubMed 42932013
- ICAR-CIFT, Kochi: Anisakis typica larvae found in frigate tuna from markets on the southwestern Indian coast, with a prevalence of 16.67%.Pathogens · PubMed 42931175
- Afghanistan: review of evidence gaps on cystic echinococcosis, outlining three priorities for regional One Health collaboration with WHO EMRO.Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · PubMed 42931792
Virology & One Health
- Chattogram, Bangladesh: avian influenza virus prevalence of 14.3% in pigeons and quail, with H9 11.3% and H5 0.3%; quail had higher odds of positivity than pigeons (aOR 4.1).PLOS One · PubMed 42932356
- Ibrahim Medical College, Dhaka, 970 acute febrile cases (July-September 2025): CHIKV detected in 557 (57.4%), DENV in 71 (7.3%) and dengue-chikungunya co-infection in 15 (1.5%).IMC Journal of Medical Science
- IISER Bhopal: circular RNA circEPSTI1 is induced in dengue patients and enhances DENV infection through the miR-942-5p-SERPINE1-AKT1 axis.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · PubMed 42932652
Mycology
- Andhra Pradesh, 269 adults with tinea: mean DLQI 10.97, with 42.4% experiencing a large effect on quality of life.Cureus · PubMed 42928871
- Surat: descriptive case series of four patients with mucormycosis managed predominantly with Ayurveda-based interventions; the authors state the observations do not establish effectiveness or safety.Journal of Fungi · PubMed 42930746
Enteric fever
Items are summaries of published abstracts and are not clinical advice. Readers should consult the original article. Figures are quoted as reported in each abstract.