India & South Asia Microbiology and Infectious Disease report (ISAMID) 01/11/2026

These stories were already being followed before this week. The table shows what changed since the figures reported on 25 Oct. NEW marks a changed figure. UNCHANGED means no newer figure was found. Three stories close this week because nothing further was reported.

Discussion frequency: Moderate·Status: ongoing since 15 March 2026

Location: Bangladesh (nationwide; the two latest deaths were in Moulvibazar and Khagrachhari)

• DGHS bulletin, 1 Nov non-X: two further deaths in the 24 hours to 08:00, both suspected; 1,353 new suspected and 64 new confirmed cases. 204,783 people have been admitted since 15 March and 196,183 discharged. BSS · Dhaka Tribune
• Intermediate tolls on X: 1,249 on 29 Oct (UNB) and 1,252 on 31 Oct. unbnewsroom · mahmudur02
• X (political, unverified):
  • Accounts contrast officially reported vaccination coverage “exceeding 100%” with hospital data on measles patients (the post is truncated), and allege conflicting figures from two government agencies. albd1971 · riyamenon45q
  • A Bengali post claims child deaths were linked to substandard vaccine and that 27% of children did not develop antibodies. No official or peer-reviewed source for this claim was found. Unverified discussion on X only. Amirul1971

Discussion frequency: Moderate·Status: ongoing; experts expect transmission through November

Location: Bangladeshnationwide; Dhaka hospitals under pressure

• Reuters, 31 Oct non-X: 418 deaths and more than 133,000 admissions this year to 30 Oct. October accounted for 173 deaths. Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital was treating 279 dengue patients after 67 admissions in a single day. An entomologist expects any decline in November to be modest. ThePrint (Reuters)
• X (Bengali media), 1 Nov: eight further deaths and 1,929 admissions in 24 hours. NirapadNews · rhbnews24
• X (Bengali media): Nagorik News gives 174 dengue deaths in October. Tahasin13
• Literature non-X: a Dhaka case-control study of severe dengue and comorbidities. See Section 13.

Discussion frequency: Moderate·Status: ongoing

Location: PakistanKhyber Pakhtunkhwa (Bara, Khyber)Punjab (Rawalpindi, Lahore)Sindh (Karachi)

• WPV1, 1 Nov non-X: NEOC confirmed the eighth case of 2026 in a 13-month-old girl from UC Janbaz-B, Bara tehsil, Khyber district. It is the second case from Khyber this year and the sixth from KP. Environmental detections continue in the Peshawar Block. A subnational campaign runs 2–8 November in 97 districts (about 24 million children), synchronised with Afghanistan. Dawn · X: geonews_english (31 cases in 2025) · KarachiPulsePK
• Bannu: the district administration imposed Section 144 for one week ahead of the campaign, citing security concerns. FarwaZubai64830
• SSPE: Gavi described more than 100 Pakistani families affected by SSPE connecting through WhatsApp. gavi
• Dengue, Rawalpindi, 31 Oct non-X: 84 confirmed cases, one in the past 24 hours, seven in hospital and no deaths this year. There were 27 cases in September and 51 in October; 6,382 people have been screened. Zaviya · X: zaviyapk · SAMAATV
• Karachi malaria (X, unverified): a resident reports hospitals in District West “full of malaria cases” and no fumigation. shahidkhank3609

Discussion frequency: Moderate·Status: new as a lead item (escalated from the watch list)

Location: PakistanSindh (Karachi, Malir)Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan)

Figures: Sindh 115 cases and 12 deaths in 2026; KP 18 cases (Peshawar 5 with 1 death).

• Karachi, 31 Oct non-X: a three-year-old boy tested positive after circumcision at a Malir hospital (Ibne Hassan Hospital), and doctors said two other recent cases had been circumcised at the same facility. The Sindh Health Care Commission sealed it more than 10 days earlier after inspectors flagged infection-prevention gaps and found a dispenser performing circumcision. SIDH&RC has seven mpox inpatients, including the mother and an aunt of an infant who died of mpox earlier in the week (described as the first infant mpox death in Karachi this year), and 31 cases this year. Zaviya · X: bloom_pakistan · secondopinionpk
• KP, 27 Oct (X, citing the provincial health department): four new cases in 72 hours, taking the provincial total to 18; Peshawar has five cases and one death. Post4th · DailyTheDestin
• X (unverified): one account claims mpox can spread via rodents amid Karachi’s garbage problem. No supporting source was found. pakco_updates

Discussion frequency: Low on X·Status: ongoing

Location: IndiaKerala (statewide)

• Kerala DHS, 31 Oct sheet non-X, cumulative 2026, confirmed cases / deaths (suspected in brackets where given):
  • Dengue 13,164 / 44 (35,314 / 35); leptospirosis 2,455 / 123 (1,451 / 92); hepatitis A 6,493 / 44; influenza 12,055 / 123.
  • Scrub typhus 609 / 13; typhoid 241 / 1; shigellosis 560 / 8; AES 115 / 26; Japanese encephalitis 8 / 4; rabies 17 / 17; West Nile 14 (26 / 4).
  • Mpox 8; Nipah 1; Zika 1; diphtheria 1.
  • Deaths noted on the sheet: a pneumonia death in a three-year-old boy in Thrissur (28 Oct) and a probable leptospirosis death in a 62-year-old man in Kottayam (22 Oct).
  • Kerala DHS, 31 Oct PDF · Kerala DHS, 30 Oct PDF

Discussion frequency: Low–moderate·Status: ongoing (dengue); closed (Vandalur)

Location: IndiaTamil NaduChennai

• 1 Nov non-X: Health Minister Arunraj said dengue is “under control” in Tamil Nadu as the monsoon begins, and asked the public to prevent water stagnation. No figures were given. Dinamani (Tamil)
• Chennai (X): the Corporation removed 41,484 kg of old tyres and discarded items; the post cites more than 3,000 cases in the city this year and 3,700 field workers. vaagaimedia
• Vandalur: no further report after the zoo reopened on 25 Oct. Closed for lack of further reporting. The Hindu

Discussion frequency: Moderate·Status: ongoing

Location: IndiaWest Bengal (Murshidabad, Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, South 24 Parganas, Malda most affected)

• Asianet News Bangla, 29 Oct non-X: the figures above, citing the health department; a high-level review meeting was held at Swasthya Bhavan with district magistrates, CMOHs and municipal commissioners. Asianet News Bangla

Discussion frequency: Moderate·Status: ongoing

Location: IndiaDelhiMaharashtra (Pune)Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Muzaffarnagar)Madhya Pradesh (Balaghat, Birsa block)

• Delhi, 27 Oct non-X: the MCD weekly report gives 92 dengue cases in the week to 24 Oct, 396 in October so far (above the 377 in all of October 2025), 337 malaria and 38 chikungunya cases this year, and no deaths. News18 (PTI)
• Pune, 26 Oct non-X: after the 18 Oct death of a nine-year-old girl, PMC identified eight suspected dengue deaths between July and October and is referring them to the state death audit committee. Three patients were from outside the city. The audit is to determine whether dengue or an underlying condition was the cause. Hindustan Times · X: ThePuneMirror
• Uttar Pradesh (Hindi X): 25 new dengue cases in Lucknow on 1 Nov; a school principal in Muzaffarnagar was reported in ICU with dengue. bstvlive · LokpathLive
• Balaghat, 27 Oct non-X: three Baiga infants died in Birsa block (Matla, Khairtola, Sundarwahi villages). The Congress MLA Sanjay Uike puts the toll at 55; the official figure remains 32. CMHO Dr Shatrughan Singh Dahiya gave preliminary asphyxiation during breastfeeding as the cause, and the children’s ages are disputed. Times of India

Discussion frequency: Low·Status: ongoing (Rajasthan); closed (Odisha)

Location: IndiaRajasthan (Jaipur)Odisha

• Rajasthan, 30 Oct (X): DD News Rajasthan reports 250 dengue and 450 scrub typhus cases amid a rise in seasonal illness, with SMS Hospital named. The period and area covered are not stated. DDNewsRajasthan
• Kerala: the state sheet gives 609 scrub typhus cases and 13 deaths in 2026 (see Section 05).
• Odisha: no new in-window report. Closed for lack of further reporting.

Discussion frequency: Low–moderate·Status: ongoing

Location: Nepal74 districts (Lumbini Province highest)

• EDCD, via Nepal Manch, 28 Oct non-X: Lumbini 3,276, Gandaki 2,217, Sudurpashchim 2,186, Bagmati 1,418, Koshi 1,257, Karnali 1,004 and Madhesh 285. Leading districts: Dang 687, Syangja 615, Salyan 550, Sankhuwasabha 505, Bajhang 480. Monthly: 2,577 in August, 2,990 in September and more than 1,500 in October. Nepal Manch (Nepali)
• X, 27 Oct: 11,040 scrub typhus and 6,192 dengue infections, and 28 Japanese encephalitis deaths. NepalBolcha

Discussion frequency: Low·Status: ongoing

Location: Sri Lanka (Western Province 54,783; Gampaha 22,094; Colombo 20,453)Maldives

• NDCU, via Virakesari non-X: the figures above; July had the most cases (29,964). Virakesari (Tamil)
• Sinhala X, 27 Oct: the acting director of the dengue control programme, Dr Kapila Kannangara, said 50 of the 79 dengue deaths at that point were women. LankadeepaNews
• Maldives: no newer measles update was found after last week’s report of no new cases (287 in 2026). UNCHANGED.

Discussion frequency: Low on X

• Indian J Med Microbiol (26 Oct): a prospective observational study at AIIMS Jodhpur compared meropenem-based with minocycline-based triple therapy for carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii VAP. Clinical recovery (54% vs 47%) and day-28 microbiological eradication (39% in both) were similar; ICU and hospital stays were shorter with the minocycline regimen. doi:10.1016/j.ijmmb.2026.101327
• J Clin Microbiol: performance of mCIM/eCIM in Enterobacterales co-encoding NDM and OXA-48-like carbapenemases from South India (Amrita, CMC Vellore and Washington University authors). doi:10.1128/jcm.01063-26
• Int J Antimicrob Agents (29 Oct): systematic review and meta-analysis of MCR-mediated colistin resistance across the One Health continuum in South Asia. 31 studies (34 data points; 7,407 isolates; 1,243 MCR-positive) from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and India gave a pooled prevalence of 14.7% (I² ≈ 97.8%), highest in Bangladesh (37.3%). doi:10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2026.108051
• Open Forum Infect Dis: risk factors for colonisation with antibiotic-resistant bacteria among 768 community adults in Bangladesh (ARCH study). Public-tap water use was associated with ESCrE colonisation (aOR 11.24; 95% CI 1.28–98.6) and with MRSA colonisation. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofag651
• Microorganisms: whole-genome sequencing of XDR Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi: resistome, virulome and phylogenomics. doi:10.3390/microorganisms14102225
• Cureus: a multidisciplinary stewardship programme in an Indian ICU, time-series analysis of diagnostic practices and antibiotic use (Guntur and Chennai authors). doi:10.7759/cureus.117062
• One Health and veterinary (in window):
  • Microb Genom: AMR patterns in poultry-associated Campylobacter across South and Southeast Asia. doi:10.1099/mgen.0.001872
  • Int J Microbiol: multidrug-resistant, virulent E. coli in farm environments in Bangladesh. doi:10.1155/ijm/3646267
  • PLoS One: multidrug-resistant Salmonella in fruit bats and shared water sources in Bangladesh. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0361701
  • Vet Res Commun: A. baumannii in cats, veterinary hospital environments and medical waste in Bangladesh. doi:10.1007/s11259-026-11596-4
  • Prev Vet Med: antimicrobial use patterns and farmer typologies in commercial poultry in Bangladesh. doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2026.107057
• Other (in window): Perspect Clin Res: irrational drug use in paediatric acute respiratory infections in South India doi:10.4103/picr.picr_225_25 · ScientificWorldJournal: quality of marketed cefixime brands in Bangladesh doi:10.1155/tswj/4894162 · J Clin Microbiol: genomic epidemiology review of Candidozyma (Candida) auris clades doi:10.1128/jcm.01106-26
• medRxiv (posted 26 Oct; not peer-reviewed): carbapenem resistance among Gram-negative bacteria in bioaerosols at a biomedical waste disposal site in Ahmedabad. doi:10.64898/2026.10.22.26366283
• X (clinician): an author shared a Lung India randomised feasibility trial of 7 versus 14 days of polymyxin-based therapy for CRAB VAP (paper not read). kiratkhangura29
• X (Pakistan): a pharmacist questioned whether quality control of local antibiotics is keeping pace after multinational exits. saada_gul

• World J Clin Pediatr: systematic review and meta-analysis of the causes of paediatric acute encephalitis syndrome in India (69 studies). Scrub typhus was the commonest identified cause (20%; 95% CI 13–27%), followed by JE (13%) and enterovirus (6%). doi:10.5409/wjcp.121910
• Cureus: discordance between IgM serology and TSA-56 qPCR for scrub typhus in undifferentiated fever in Western Odisha (397 patients). Positivity was 16.8% by IgM ICT, 19.6% by IgM ELISA and 20.8% by qPCR (37/178 tested). doi:10.7759/cureus.117277
• BMC Infect Dis: systematic review of pyrexia of unknown origin in South Asia: aetiology, diagnostic gaps and management. doi:10.1186/s12879-026-14121-9
• BMC Infect Dis: azithromycin versus ceftriaxone for uncomplicated typhoid fever in children, meta-analysis of RCTs. doi:10.1186/s12879-026-14103-x
• Int J Infect Dis: inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine in children and pregnant women in rural Bangladesh, a phase IV cluster-randomised trial. Adjusted VE was 77.4% in children during the B/Victoria wave of 2021; too few cases occurred in pregnant women for assessment. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2026.109209
• Int J Infect Dis: memory B-cell responses after single- versus two-dose oral cholera vaccine (Shanchol) in Bangladeshi adults. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2026.109219
• Dengue:
  • Front Public Health: clinical and laboratory characteristics of severe dengue and comorbidities in Dhaka (case-control). doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1944846
  • BMC Infect Dis: dengue with epistaxis at a Kathmandu tertiary hospital. doi:10.1186/s12879-026-14134-4
  • Acta Parasitol: heterozygous V1016G kdr mutation in Aedes aegypti from Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, with reduced pyrethroid susceptibility in bioassays. doi:10.1007/s11686-026-01424-9
  • Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis: dengue vector breeding in diverse environments, case studies from Colombia and Nepal. doi:10.1016/j.crpvbd.2026.100449
• Nipah: Health Sci Rep: Nipah knowledge in rural Bangladesh doi:10.1002/hsr2.73429 · Rev Med Virol: review from Malaysia to recent Indian outbreaks doi:10.1002/rmv.70221 · Int J Biol Macromol: nanobodies against a conserved henipavirus G glycoprotein region doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2026.155084
• Immunisation and zoonoses: Vaccines (Basel): vaccine cold-chain performance across seven provinces and two seasons in Nepal doi:10.3390/vaccines14100837 · Front Vet Sci: sampling plan for 10 zoonotic and 4 transboundary animal diseases across India doi:10.3389/fvets.2026.1919244
• medRxiv (posted in window; not peer-reviewed):
  • Agent-based model of TB care-cascade failures in India (29 Oct). doi:10.64898/2026.10.27.26366617
  • Molecular xenomonitoring of Wuchereria bancrofti in Culex quinquefasciatus in three Nepalese districts (26 Oct). doi:10.64898/2026.10.23.26366133
  • Risk factors for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever at six tertiary hospitals in Afghanistan, 2022–2025 (26 Oct). doi:10.64898/2026.10.24.26366389
• IJMR and JGID: no in-window PubMed entries.

Discussion frequency: Not discussed on X

• The latest report is still week 34 (17–23 Aug). Week 35 has not been published, so the lag is now about ten weeks. UNCHANGED. Week 34 PDF · NCDC listing

Discussion frequency: Moderate (Malayalam)·Status: watching; probe under way

Location: IndiaKerala (Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital)

• Assembly, 29 Oct non-X: Health Minister K. Muraleedharan said a medical board headed by the head of Infectious Diseases at Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram will investigate whether expired remdesivir led to Nipah deaths, and whether other patients given the drug had side-effects.
  • KMSCL last bought remdesivir (3,000 vials) on 3 June 2021, with expiry on 30 May 2023. Kozhikode MCH used 102 vials in 2023–24, 34 in 2024–25, 10 in 2025–26 and 50 in 2026–27; the 2026–27 vials were brought from Bahrain. The concern is that stock used up to 2025 may have expired.
  • Nipah cases by year, per the minister: 2023, 6 cases (2 deaths); 2024, 2 (2 deaths); 2025, 3 (2 deaths); 2026, 1 (recovered).
  • The Hindu · X: janmat_bharat · xpresskeralam
• Response, 30–31 Oct non-X: critical-care specialist Dr A S Anoop said none of the six patients who died received remdesivir from Kozhikode MCH. TNIE
• Malayalam X: former health minister Veena George rejected the allegation and said the minister had misled the Assembly; a former Nipah nodal officer, Dr Chandni, also rejected the minister’s claim (headlines; videos not reviewed). bigtv24x7live · bigtv24x7live
• X (regulatory status): one account notes remdesivir has no full approval for Nipah and was used under off-label or emergency protocols. trilobite_1970
• Surveillance: the 31 Oct state sheet still records one Nipah case in 2026. The latest WHO DON for India Nipah remains DON609. Kerala DHS, 31 Oct PDF · WHO DON609

Discussion frequency: Low–moderate·Status: new

Location: Indianational

• BPaL patent, reported 28 Oct non-X: the Indian Patent Office rejected TB Alliance’s application covering the bedaquiline–pretomanid–linezolid combination for drug-resistant TB. Two pre-grant oppositions had been filed in 2020: one by Eldred Tellis (Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust) and Ganesh Acharya, supported by the Lawyers Collective and the MSF Access Campaign; the other by DNP+, supported by TWN. All four grounds, including Section 3(d), were upheld. Patents on the combination have been granted in 11 countries and expire in 2036. The Hindu · X: ieexplained
• DGHS ban on reuse of single-use devices: no new order; the directive was still being shared on X. IndiaTaj82970
• Hospital IPC drives (X, institutional): AIIMS Bathinda (Kayakalp peer assessment of ICU records on 28 Oct; new biomedical waste trolleys), AIIMS Patna (colour-coded cleaning), AIIMS Guwahati (sanitation awareness, 27 Oct) and AIIMS Kalyani (ward checks), all under Special Campaign 6.0. AiimsBathinda · AiimsBathinda · aiims_patna · AIIMS_Guwahati · AiimsKalyani
• CDSCO: the alerts page was not reviewed this week.

• Rabies (X): posts debated India’s share of global rabies deaths. One cites estimates of 5,700–20,000 deaths a year; another cites a Lok Sabha figure of 54 deaths in 2024–25. Kerala’s sheet records 17 rabies deaths in 2026. ForJustice_SIFF · Satyanveshi1526 · TalkPediatrics
• Bangladesh dengue death of a young woman (X, political account): Safia Hasin Aroshi; her sisters also tested positive. jamiediaz9z
• No dedicated signals found for Bhutan or for Afghanistan outside polio (see W2) and the CCHF preprint (Section 13).

Global ID items active in or relevant to 26 Oct–1 Nov 2026 (after the India/South Asia clusters).

Meetings of interest to India/South Asia clinical microbiology and ID, checked against the events digest of 31 Oct 2026 and organiser pages.

No MICROCON 2026 session reports with scientific content were found on X in the window.

On X this week, news outlets, government departments and political accounts again outnumbered clinicians and microbiologists.

• Dengue remained the commonest topic across Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Nepali and Sinhala streams.
• The Kerala Nipah remdesivir dispute was the most discussed new India item, mainly in Malayalam and largely political in tone.
• Pakistan mpox moved from literature to news, with coverage focused on cases linked to circumcision at a sealed private facility.
• Bangladesh measles coverage was increasingly political (coverage figures, vaccine-quality claims) and reached international commentary. MichaelKugelman
• Technically substantive material again came from journals with little X pickup; the exception was one author sharing a CRAB VAP trial.
• Institutional IPC posts (AIIMS Special Campaign 6.0) were frequent but routine.
• AI-generated replies were common and were not used as sources.

Topics with minimal or absent discussion this window:

• Hospital HAI clusters and Candida auris on X (literature only)
• Cholera (literature only)
• Mucormycosis (new clusters)
• Avian influenza in South Asia after Vandalur
• Bhutan