South Asia Journal Watch
14 November 2026
Microbiology, infectious disease, AMR and infection-control papers from India and South Asia added to PubMed on 11 to 13 November 2026 and not covered in earlier issues.
Lead articles
Tuberculosis · Case-finding · The Lancet Global Health
Geographical targeting of active case-finding for tuberculosis in Pakistan using artificial intelligence software (SPOT-TB): a pragmatic, stepped wedge, cluster-randomised control trial
The Lancet Global Health · doi:10.1016/j.langlo.2026.104090 · PubMed 43020100
- What
- A pragmatic trial testing whether artificial intelligence (AI)-guided geographical targeting of community active case-finding camps increases tuberculosis detection compared with conventional site selection within Pakistan’s National TB Control Program.
- Design
- Stepped wedge, cluster-randomised trial across all four provinces of Pakistan, embedded in Global Fund-supported active case-finding. 30 mobile x-ray van teams in 68 districts were randomised to move from conventional site selection (field knowledge, experience, historical data) to targeting with the MATCH-AI software. Primary outcome: camp positivity yield (bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis per camp). Intention-to-treat primary analysis; a validated per-protocol analysis included camps within 5 km of AI-recommended locations (NCT06017843).
- Key findings
- Between Aug 1, 2023, and Sept 28, 2024, 3936 camps were held (2046 control, 1890 intervention), screening 269 254 individuals. By intention to treat, camp positivity yield was 7% higher with AI targeting but not statistically significant (adjusted risk ratio 1·07, 95% CI 0·94-1·22; p=0·27). In the validated per-protocol analysis, yield was 32% higher (1·32, 1·12-1·54; p<0·0001). Yields were highest in districts with moderate baseline yields and in rural districts.
- Limitations
- The intention-to-treat result was not significant. Routine programmatic data did not capture all implementation or process-quality indicators, limiting assessment of fidelity and variation across sites.
- Relevance to South Asia
- The authors conclude that AI-guided targeting could improve the efficiency of community-based tuberculosis case-finding in high-burden countries.
AMR · Shigella · Journal of Medical Microbiology
In vitro activity of oral antibiotics against extensively drug-resistant Shigella isolates: a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic perspective on the intracellular pathogenesis paradigm
Journal of Medical Microbiology · doi:10.1099/jmm.0.002213 · PubMed 43023838
- What
- A Christian Medical College, Vellore, study of molecular resistance profiles, in vitro activity and pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) applicability of candidate oral antibiotics against extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella.
- Design
- Between 2010 and March 2025, 1,823 non-duplicate clinical Shigella isolates were screened at a tertiary care centre in South India; 52 met XDR criteria (azithromycin MIC ≥32 mg/l, ceftriaxone MIC >4 mg/l, ciprofloxacin MIC >1 mg/l). PCR targeted β-lactamase, mphA, msrE, ermB, qnrS and qnrB genes. MICs of amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefpodoxime-clavulanate, fosfomycin, mecillinam and faropenem were determined by broth or agar dilution and interpreted with CLSI M100 (2025) or literature-derived PK/PD thresholds.
- Key findings
- β-Lactamase genes and mphA were detected in 96.2% of isolates and qnrS/qnrB in 53.8%. Cefpodoxime-clavulanate and faropenem showed 100% susceptibility, followed by fosfomycin (98.1%) and mecillinam (94.2%). MIC50/MIC90 (mg/l) were 0.5/0.5 for faropenem, 0.25/2 for mecillinam and 0.25/2 for cefpodoxime-clavulanate. PK/PD analysis suggested several agents lacked sustained intracellular exposure despite favourable MICs.
- Limitations
- Single centre and 52 XDR isolates; intracellular adequacy was inferred from PK/PD analysis, not clinical outcomes.
- Relevance to India
- The authors state that favourable in vitro susceptibility did not consistently translate into predicted intracellular adequacy, and support PK/PD-informed assessment beyond MIC-based interpretation for XDR shigellosis.
More from the journals
AMR & antimicrobials
- Jamnagar, Gujarat: ESBL production in 150 of 404 (37.12%) urinary E. coli; fosfomycin susceptibility 85.33% in ESBL producers vs 95.27% in non-ESBL isolates.BMC Infectious Diseases · PubMed 43021108
- Pakistan, One Health: carbapenem- and colistin-resistant E. coli from humans, poultry and the environment; ST101, ST131 and ST405 found in all three reservoirs.Molecular Biology Reports · PubMed 43018810
- Solan, Himachal Pradesh: inducible MLSB resistance (D-test positive) in 33.67% and constitutive MLSB in 41.07% of MRSA isolates.Annals of African Medicine · PubMed 43016368
- Nepal: survey of 372 doctors on antimicrobial prescribing; 11.3% had good factual knowledge and 31.5% good prescribing practices.Annals of Medicine and Surgery · PubMed 43017319
- Dhaka hospital wastewater: draft genome of MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae ST2096 carrying OXA-232, CTX-M-15, a class 1 integron and hypervirulence-associated determinants.Microbiology Resource Announcements · PubMed 43018138
- Mumbai coast: Arcobacter butzleri from seafood; 88.1% of isolates multidrug resistant, with blaOXA-464 the dominant resistance gene.Archives of Microbiology · PubMed 43018720
TB & mycobacteria
- Andhra Pradesh: Swaasa AI community screening flagged 780 people; TB confirmed in 11 (1.41%), and 36% of detected cases were asymptomatic.Frontiers in Public Health · PubMed 43023173
- Mymensingh, Bangladesh: paediatric TB cascades in 842,203 screened children; private facilities had higher screen-positive, evaluation and diagnosis percentages; both sectors reached 100% treatment initiation.BMC Health Services Research · PubMed 43021236
- BHU Varanasi: NTM in 104 of 2,050 (5.1%) specimens from TB-suspected patients; M. abscessus most frequent (35.6%) by line probe assay.Journal of Infection in Developing Countries · PubMed 43019301
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: WGS of 35 M. tuberculosis isolates; lineage L3 (CAS) in 54.3%, two transmission clusters with <9 SNP differences.Scientific Reports · PubMed 43019109
- India: systematic review and meta-analysis (67,155 individuals); pooled diabetes prevalence among TB patients 20% (95% CI 15%-27%), with high heterogeneity.BMC Pulmonary Medicine · PubMed 43015669
- AIIMS New Delhi: TB confirmed in 24 of 155 (15.5%) hospitalised COVID-19 patients; mortality 37.5% with coinfection vs 18.3% with COVID-19 alone.Cureus · PubMed 43021806
- New Delhi: gut microbiome dysbiosis and metabolome changes in active TB, partially resolving during anti-TB treatment.BMC Microbiology · PubMed 43015590
- AIIMS Patna: cross-sectional study of prevalence and clinical, radiological and pulmonary function characteristics of post-tuberculosis lung disease (abstract not available on PubMed at time of listing).BMJ Open · PubMed 43020512
Vector-borne & zoonoses
- ICMR-NIMR, India: 5-day national refresher training in malaria microscopy (N = 130); median species identification score rose from 46.00 to 69.00.Malaria Journal · PubMed 43015736
- ICMR-NIV Pune: multiplex real-time RT-PCR for dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses validated on clinical samples; more ZIKV-positive samples needed to establish ZIKV performance.Archives of Virology · PubMed 43018816
- Scoping review of Chandipura virus in animal hosts and arthropod vectors, following India’s 2024 outbreak (245 cases, 33% fatal).PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases · PubMed 43019368
- Dhaka: climate-driven mechanistic dengue transmission model; simulated infections mostly August to December, median peak in October.Infectious Disease Modelling · PubMed 43022950
- Urban Bangladesh: zoonotic hookworm contamination in 49.6% (139/280) of samples by PCR at shared human-dog interfaces; five species identified.BMC Veterinary Research · PubMed 43021229
Vaccines & virology
- India: meta-analysis of 26 studies (4,253 pneumococcal isolates); serotypes 14, 19F and 6B most frequent in paediatric IPD.BMC Infectious Diseases · PubMed 43021125
- India: pooled complete hepatitis B vaccination coverage among dental students 53.9% (95% CI 41.84-65.97) across 24 studies.Preventive Medicine Reports · PubMed 43022612
- Kozhikode, Kerala: Covishield antibody kinetics in laboratory staff; 100% seropositive after dose 2, 30.7% seronegative or equivocal by 6 months.Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research · PubMed 43022362
- AIIMS New Delhi: HPV viral load (RLU/CO) discriminated HSIL or invasive cervical cancer with AUC 0.798 in 328 women; HPV16 most frequent genotype.Frontiers in Global Women’s Health · PubMed 43022001
Clinical infection, HAI & public health
- Peshawar: among 133 patients with sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery, elevated preoperative HbA1c was associated with deep rather than superficial infection.Access Microbiology · PubMed 43023131
- Lahore: pneumonia in 96 cancer patients; microbiological aetiology identified in 81.3%, isolated fungal infections in 17.7%.Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan · PubMed 43016087
- EFGH-Shigella sites including Bangladesh and Pakistan: delayed care-seeking for childhood diarrhoea in 61.7% of children aged 6-35 months.PLOS Global Public Health · PubMed 43024640
- Karachi: qualitative study of HIV stigma and healthcare access among young people living with HIV; seven themes, including confidentiality breaches in healthcare settings.BMC Public Health · PubMed 43021155
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.