Indian Journal Watch
22 October 2026
Peer-reviewed microbiology, infectious disease, AMR and infection-control papers from India and South Asia, published or added to PubMed from 20 to 22 October 2026.
Lead articles
Vector-borne · Malaria Journal
Shifting malaria species composition amid declining transmission in India: longitudinal evidence from 27 states, 2009–2019
Malaria Journal · doi:10.1186/s12936-026-06183-6
- What
- Changes in malaria test positivity, and in the relative contribution of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax, across Indian states between 2009 and 2019.
- Design
- Analysis of monthly state-level Health Management Information System (HMIS) records from April 2009 to December 2019 in 27 Indian states with complete observations. Total malaria-positive cases were defined as the sum of P. falciparum and P. vivax positives. Beta-binomial mixed-effects models with state-specific temporal effects were used.
- Key findings
- Adjusted total malaria positivity declined from 3.14% (95% CI: 2.30–4.28) in 2009 to 0.94% (0.68–1.30) in 2019, despite a 60.1% increase in blood smears examined. P. falciparum positivity declined from 1.14% to 0.40% and P. vivax positivity from 1.67% to 0.48%. There was no significant overall change in the relative contribution of P. falciparum (OR: 0.995; 95% CI: 0.985–1.005; p = 0.304), but state-specific trajectories differed markedly (likelihood-ratio χ² = 1435.7, df = 2; p < 0.001). The P. falciparum share declined in six states and increased in Karnataka and Tripura. Peak positivity ranged from February to December across states.
- Limitations
- The analysis uses routine, aggregated state-level HMIS data. It is restricted to states with complete records, counts only P. falciparum and P. vivax, and ends in 2019.
- Relevance to India
- The authors conclude that the national decline “masks substantial geographic heterogeneity in parasite composition and seasonal transmission”. This is relevant to state-level malaria surveillance as India moves towards elimination.
IPC · Journal of Infection Prevention
From perceived compliance to practice: hand hygiene knowledge, self-reported behaviour and operational barriers among nursing staff in Central India
Journal of Infection Prevention · doi:10.1177/17571774261499519
- What
- Hand hygiene knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practice among nursing staff, and the factors linked with consistent self-reported practice.
- Design
- Cross-sectional questionnaire study among nursing staff at a tertiary-care teaching hospital in Central India (author affiliation: AIIMS). The questionnaire was adapted from the WHO Hand Hygiene Knowledge Questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression examined reporting that hand hygiene was performed “always” during the work shift.
- Key findings
- Among 262 participants with valid responses, 235 (89.7%) reported always performing hand hygiene. Awareness of the WHO Five Moments was 99.2%, and 85.8% reported training within the preceding three years. Before and after patient contact, 98.1% and 96.9% respectively reported performing hand hygiene. Insufficient time was the most frequently reported barrier (70.3%). Monitoring with feedback remained independently associated with consistent self-reported practice (aOR 3.79, 95% CI 1.50–9.56; P = 0.005).
- Limitations
- Single centre and based on self-report. The authors state that “self-reported practice should not be interpreted as observed compliance”.
- Relevance to India
- The study describes very high self-reported adherence alongside operational barriers in an Indian teaching hospital. The authors suggest that point-of-care supplies, workflow-sensitive interventions and monitoring with feedback “may be more actionable than refresher training alone”.
More from the journals
Antimicrobial resistance & stewardship
- Vadodara, Gujarat: 954 of 2,408 (39.61%) symptomatic patients had positive urine cultures. P. aeruginosa showed the highest difficult-to-treat resistance in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients.BMC Infectious Diseases · PubMed 42902228
- Karachi, paediatric typhoid (n = 319): 84.6% had XDR Salmonella Typhi. Dual antibiotic therapy was associated with a longer hospital stay (adjusted geometric mean ratio 1.28, 95% CI 1.12–1.46).Discover Public Health
- Whole-genome sequencing of 87 clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae urinary isolates from India: blaSHV and blaCTX-M were the most prevalent class A β-lactamase genes.Access Microbiology
- IIT Roorkee-led study: Omp33-36 porin substitutions in two multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii bloodstream isolates altered loop dynamics. The authors note there was no direct evidence of reduced antibiotic flux.Frontiers in Microbiology
- Debate (JIPMER, Puducherry): the case for routine antibiotics after aspiration.Annals of Emergency Medicine · PubMed 42901624
- Debate (AIIMS New Delhi): the case for selective antibiotic use after aspiration.Annals of Emergency Medicine · PubMed 42901623
Tuberculosis
- Kerala tertiary centre: CBNAAT compared with microscopy and culture for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary TB.Access Microbiology
- Bhubaneswar, Odisha: cross-sectional study of the inflammatory biomarkers IL-6, IL-10, IL-17 and TNF-α in patients with TB.Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology
- Rawalpindi and Islamabad (1,000 TB patients): TB recurrence (OR=5.37, 95% CI: 2.40-13.36) and smoking (OR=1.92, 95% CI: 1.22-3.05) independently predicted smear-positive TB.Annals of King Edward Medical University
- CSIR-IMTECH, Chandigarh: an Lsr2–PhoP regulatory circuit controls the M. tuberculosis iron-storage gene bfrB, linking iron homeostasis with tolerance to oxidative stress.Journal of Bacteriology · PubMed 42900177
- Kerala case report: TB presenting as pericardial effusion in an immunocompetent young adult, diagnosed on pericardial biopsy.BMJ Case Reports
Vector-borne, zoonotic & NTDs
- Dhaka: adjusted dengue seroprevalence in children aged 2–12 years was 14.0% (95% CI 10%-19%). A higher parental attitude score was associated with lower seropositivity in children (aRR 0.77, 95% CI 0.60-0.99).PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
- Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh: a GIS and remote-sensing Dengue Risk Index classified 32.87% of the district as High or Very High risk. Its concordance with block-level incidence was weak and not statistically significant.Tropical Medicine and Health
- Bangladesh, filarial lymphoedema (n = 290): after enhanced self-care training, acute attacks fell from 62.8–79.6% to 25.2–35.2% (p < 0.001). The financial burden of self-care persisted.PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
- ICMR-NIMR review of emerging drug targets against drug-resistant malaria parasites.Infection · PubMed 42900459
- Colombo District, Sri Lanka: cross-sectional study of delayed health-seeking among adults with leprosy.Leprosy Review
Diagnostics
- icddr,b, Bangladesh (105 children under 5): for the Shigella LAMP-based rapid test, rectal swabs in Cary-Blair medium showed 97.6% sensitivity and 100% specificity compared with fresh stool.The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · PubMed 42901155
- Northeast India: determining an optical density cut-off for IgM ELISA in the diagnosis of scrub typhus.Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology
Virology
- Indian-led systematic review (nine studies, 1,560 patients from Asia and Europe): pooled prevalence of the HCV NS5A Y93H substitution in treatment-naïve genotype 1b infection was 12% (95% CI, 6%-20%).BMC Infectious Diseases · PubMed 42902253
- Rural Ludhiana, Punjab: overall all-cause excess mortality during the COVID-19 period was 19 (1.8%). In 2021 it was 72 (24%).Cureus · PubMed 42899133
Mycology
- New Delhi/Mumbai case report: nanopore sequencing identified Aspergillus fumigatus within 24 hours in culture-negative postoperative discitis.Asian Journal of Neurosurgery
- Pakistan case report: Scedosporium apiospermum in a non-healing diabetic foot ulcer, described as the first report from Pakistan.The Southwest Journal of Medicine
Infection prevention & HAI
Other
- AIIMS Jammu systematic review of skull base osteomyelitis (45 studies, 1,628 patients): Pseudomonas aeruginosa predominated (62.4%), and fungal disease accounted for 7.8% of cases.Neurology India
- Review of parasitic infections of the lacrimal system (LV Prasad Eye Institute co-author): Rhinosporidium seeberi accounted for 147 of 172 cases (85.5%).Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · PubMed 42902464
- Pune review on reconciling prokaryote naming rules (ICNP, SeqCode) with India’s Biological Diversity Act.Systematic and Applied Microbiology · PubMed 42901108
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.
