Indian Journal Watch
29 October 2026
Peer-reviewed microbiology, infectious disease, AMR and infection-control papers from India and South Asia, published or added to PubMed from 27 to 28 October 2026.
Lead articles
Vector-borne & zoonoses 路 BMC Infectious Diseases
Epidemiological trends of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in South Asia: a systematic review
BMC Infectious Diseases 路 doi:10.1186/s12879-026-14036-5 路 PubMed 42947009
- What
- A systematic review of the epidemiology, clinical presentation and prevention of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in South Asia, from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi.
- Design
- Conducted according to PRISMA 2020 and SWiM guidelines, with the protocol registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023463930). PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were searched (1994-2026), together with IDSP weekly outbreak reports from the NCDC website for cases from India. Eligible studies were observational studies, outbreak investigations and hospital-based reports of human CCHF cases from South Asian countries.
- Key findings
- A total of 59 studies from Pakistan, India and Afghanistan reported 4116 suspected cases, with 1888 laboratory-confirmed cases and a 22% case fatality rate among confirmed cases (India: 49%, Pakistan: 9%, Afghanistan: 28%). The mean age of affected individuals was 34.4 years, and the highest-risk occupations included butchers and livestock handlers. Frequent clinical manifestations included fever, haemorrhagic features (notably epistaxis), myalgia, headache, abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms; thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and elevated AST and ALT were frequent laboratory abnormalities.
- Limitations
- The abstract notes that there are few longitudinal studies of CCHF in South Asia. The review pools heterogeneous observational and outbreak reports, and the case fatality rates by country are drawn from differing numbers and types of studies.
- Relevance to India
- The authors highlight healthcare workers and livestock handlers as high-risk groups and point to surveillance needs in specific areas, including the Kutch and Amreli districts of Gujarat in India, Herat Province (Afghanistan), and Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan).
IPC & AMR 路 Cornea
Extensively Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Keratitis After Photorefractive Keratectomy Because of Contaminated Eye Drops: Experience With Colistin-Based Therapy
Cornea 路 doi:10.1097/ICO.0000000000004352 路 PubMed 42950065
- What
- A case series of infectious keratitis caused by extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), with identification of the source, from the Shantilal Shanghvi Cornea Institute and the Jhaveri Microbiology Center, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad.
- Design
- Retrospective review of 7 eyes from 4 patients who presented with infectious keratitis after bilateral PRK performed at different centres and time points, evaluated at a tertiary eye care centre in India between March 2024 and August 2025. Demographic, clinical, microbiological, treatment and outcome data were analysed, and eye drops were evaluated as a possible source.
- Key findings
- Patients presented on average 2.5 days (range 1-4) after surgery. Corneal infiltrates were central and full-thickness, with severe stromal lysis in 5 of the 7 eyes, and hypopyon was present in 6 eyes. All cases grew P. aeruginosa; the isolate was resistant to all antibiotic classes, with intermediate susceptibility only to colistin. Six of 7 eyes recovered with medical therapy (topical colistin 0.19%) alone, and 1 eye underwent therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty. Identical organisms with similar resistance patterns were found in the eye drops used and left over by the patients, and in unopened similar drops.
- Limitations
- A small retrospective series of 4 patients from a single referral centre; the abstract does not report molecular typing of the isolates or the identity of the product.
- Relevance to India
- The series links XDR P. aeruginosa keratitis to contaminated eye drops, including unopened drops, and the authors emphasise early recognition, source identification and microbiology-guided therapy.
More from the journals
Antimicrobial resistance & stewardship
- Parul University, Vadodara, 954 culture-positive UTIs: 61.84% of uropathogens were MDR, 19.49% XDR and 12.99% PDR; P. aeruginosa showed 92.10% MDR in diabetic patients.Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials 路 PubMed 42947119
- JIPMER, Puducherry, 156 children with acute respiratory infections: antibiotics were included in 58.8% of physician prescriptions (97.7% judged irrational), and a viral pathogen was detected in 35% of children who received antibiotics.Perspectives in Clinical Research 路 PubMed 42948800
- NUST Islamabad, 1346 higher-education students across Pakistan: the prevalence of self-medication was 59.88%, and antibiotics accounted for 29.00% of agents used.BMC Public Health 路 PubMed 42947121
Tuberculosis
Vector-borne & parasitic disease
- ICMR-NIHR and Agartala Government Medical College, 1205 febrile tribal individuals in Tripura: PCR detected 422 infections (Pf 174, Pv 213, mixed 35); 32 of 444 confirmed cases (7.2%) were severe, including 11 P. vivax.Malaria Journal 路 PubMed 42947159
- Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, 27 NS1-positive dengue patients with epistaxis: mean platelet count was around 30,000/碌L at the time of epistaxis, and 62.96% required transfusion.BMC Infectious Diseases 路 PubMed 42946991
Virology & One Health
- Jashore University of Science and Technology, 415 rural adults in Bangladesh: 71.1% had heard of Nipah virus but only 16.4% had good knowledge; consuming fresh date palm sap was associated with lower odds of good knowledge (AOR 0.34).Health Science Reports 路 PubMed 42948544
- Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak: review of Nipah virus pathogenesis, transmission and epidemiology from Malaysia to Indian outbreaks reported through 2026, noting that no licensed human vaccine is available.Reviews in Medical Virology 路 PubMed 42947410
- ICAR-NIVEDI, Bengaluru, 24,542 post-vaccination sera from sheep and goats in 24 states: the overall seroconversion rate after PPR Sungri-96 vaccination was 69.3% (95% CI 68.7-69.8%).Viruses 路 PubMed 42944022
Mycology
- NIMHANS, Bengaluru: global systematic review of 253 filamentous basidiomycete infections (56 from India); Schizophyllum commune accounted for 38.3%, and mortality was 13.9%.Medical Mycology 路 PubMed 42949671
- Minireview of the genomic epidemiology of Candidozyma (Candida) auris clades I-VI, noting the discovery of clade VI in Singapore and Bangladesh.Journal of Clinical Microbiology 路 PubMed 42937367
Diagnostics
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.