Indian Journal Watch
8 November 2026
Microbiology, infectious disease, AMR and infection-control papers from India and South Asia added to PubMed on 6 November 2026 and not covered in earlier issues (PubMed showed no new entries dated 7 to 8 November at the time of compilation).
Lead articles
Malaria · Surveillance gaps · American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Underappreciated Transmission of Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale: A Potential Barrier to Malaria Elimination in Bangladesh
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · doi:10.4269/ajtmh.26-0557 · PubMed 42993973
- What
- An investigation by icddr,b of malaria cases escaping routine surveillance in Bandarban, Bangladesh, where field diagnosis relies on Plasmodium falciparum/P. vivax-specific rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and microscopy, and where P. malariae and P. ovale spp. remain absent from routine surveillance.
- Design
- Blood samples collected in 2025 from febrile patients who tested negative for P. falciparum/P. vivax by RDT underwent microscopy and SYBR-Green real-time qPCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene. P. ovale-positive cases were confirmed by probe-based qPCR, with P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri identified using an assay targeting small subunit rRNA and Po-ldh genes. Archived laboratory records (2014-2024) were reviewed for previously detected P. malariae infections.
- Key findings
- In 2025, five P. ovale spp. (four P. ovale curtisi and one P. ovale wallikeri) and three P. malariae cases were detected in Alikadam Subdistrict. All were RDT-negative despite microscopically detectable parasitaemia (mean 4,536 parasites/µL for P. ovale and 6,053 parasites/µL for P. malariae). Field microscopy correctly diagnosed only one P. ovale case; the remaining four were misclassified as P. vivax or mixed P. malariae/P. vivax. Archived data revealed 25 additional qPCR-confirmed P. malariae infections, predominantly among adult males in forest-adjacent settlements.
- Limitations
- Case numbers are small and drawn from one district; only RDT-negative febrile patients were tested, and the abstract does not report the total number screened.
- Relevance to South Asia
- Bangladesh is approaching malaria elimination; the authors call for pan-species molecular diagnostics and species-specific case reporting in routine surveillance, an issue shared with other Pf/Pv RDT-dependent programmes in the region.
Vaccination · Urban slums · Global Health Research and Policy
Interventions to improve vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months in urban slum areas of Asia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Global Health Research and Policy · doi:10.1016/j.ghrp.2026.08.002 · PubMed 42990976
- What
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions to improve vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months in urban slum areas of Asia.
- Design
- Embase, PubMed and Cochrane were searched for articles published between 2010 and January 2026. Two investigators independently extracted data; bias was assessed with ROBINS-I and RoB 2, and certainty of evidence with GRADE. Effects were pooled as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
- Key findings
- Nine studies, from quasi-experimental designs to randomised controlled trials (RCTs), were conducted in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, involving 37,405 children. Full vaccination coverage probably improved in only one RCT (OR 6.42, 95% CI 4.63-8.90) and in three quasi-experimental studies (OR 9.68, 95% CI 3.91-23.95) with high heterogeneity. DPT3 coverage significantly improved in two RCTs (OR 2.68, 95% CI 2.17-3.31; 1872 participants; I² = 0%), whereas quasi-experimental studies showed uncertain effects (OR 3.58, 95% CI 2.99-4.28; 31,817 participants; I² = 78%). Single or multicomponent strategies significantly increased coverage compared with controls.
- Limitations
- Included studies showed a moderate to high or serious level of bias; certainty of evidence was moderate in RCTs and very low in quasi-experimental studies, and intervention sustainability was limited.
- Relevance to South Asia
- Three of the four study countries are in South Asia; the authors call for further studies to improve coverage in this age group in Asian slums.
More from the journals
Vector-borne & parasitic diseases
- University of Sri Jayewardenepura: community-based cohort study of chikungunya seroprevalence and population susceptibility in Colombo before the large 2025 Sri Lankan outbreak.BMJ Open · PubMed 42994919
- ICMR-VCRC Puducherry (retired): perspective on linking dengue early-warning indicators (climate, mobility, adult female mosquito abundance, vector infection, population immunity) to timely public health action.American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · PubMed 42993969
- Phylogenetic comparison of 89 West Nile virus sequences from Iran and neighbouring countries including Pakistan; Iraqi and Pakistani strains diverged from the Iran-Turkey-Azerbaijan clusters.Archives of Razi Institute · PubMed 42990883
- Coimbatore-led review of the newly identified tick-borne Wetland virus, related to Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, and of tick-borne arboviral infections.Archives of Razi Institute · PubMed 42991249
Virology & vaccines
- University of Swat: weekly surveillance data 2023-2026 show mumps rising in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, under a measles-rubella-only immunisation schedule (letter).Journal of Infection · PubMed 42994509
- Dhaka-led scoping review of mpox vaccines and preventive measures in pregnant women and children; no source reported vaccine use by trimester and paediatric data were limited to small studies.PLOS Global Public Health · PubMed 42993744
- Mumbai: two small molecules reduced RNA binding by recombinant SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid proteins, targeting a conserved N-NTD RNA-binding pocket.Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications · PubMed 42994242
- Indian study of fluticasone nasal spray for anosmia and triamcinolone oral paste for dysgeusia in COVID-19 patients.American Journal of Otolaryngology · PubMed 42994164
AMR & antimicrobial discovery
- JNU New Delhi: review charting anti-Gram-negative antibiotic development during 2001-2020 alongside carbapenemase, efflux, permeability and target-modification resistance.Iranian Journal of Microbiology · PubMed 42992021
- Vidyasagar University: review of biofilm tolerance as distinct from heritable resistance, and emerging therapeutic vulnerabilities in resistant pathogens.Frontiers in Microbiology · PubMed 42991282
- PGIMER Chandigarh: anthraquinone-enriched fraction of Rheum australe showed synergy with tetracycline against MRSA (FICI 0.19-0.5), S. aureus and P. aeruginosa in vitro.Journal of Ethnopharmacology · PubMed 42994577
- MNNIT Prayagraj: hinokitiol disrupted membrane integrity, inhibited biofilm at sub-inhibitory doses and downregulated four quorum-sensing genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology · PubMed 42993373
- Vydehi Institute, Bengaluru: review proposing subcellular PK/PD profiling to predict combination therapies against intracellular bacterial infections.Frontiers in Pharmacology · PubMed 42991212
- Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka: draft genome of a goat vaginal-swab E. coli (4.98 Mb) carrying putative resistance and virulence genes.Microbiology Resource Announcements · PubMed 42992654
- Hyderabad: comment on MALDI-TOF MS and machine-learning prediction of ceftriaxone resistance in major Salmonella serotypes (letter).International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents · PubMed 42994511
IPC, HAI & clinical infection
- AIIMS New Delhi: practical issues in biomedical waste management facing hospital administrators.Indian Journal of Public Health · PubMed 42993597
- Jamshoro, Pakistan: letter on urinary tract infections after benign cystectomy (incidence, risk factors, pathogens and resistance patterns).Investigative and Clinical Urology · PubMed 42990044
- Amrita, Kochi: protocol for a nurse-led sepsis score in adult febrile neutropenia with remote patient monitoring, to be compared with MASCC, CISNE, NEWS2 and qSOFA (CTRI/2025/06/088290).JMIR Research Protocols · PubMed 42989793
- PGIMER Chandigarh: first reported co-infection with Colletotrichum truncatum and disseminated Nocardia cyriacigeorgica in a renal transplant recipient.Journal de Mycologie Médicale · PubMed 42994399
- RIMS Ranchi: historical review of the intersection of pandemics and warfare.Indian Journal of Public Health · PubMed 42993594
TB, mycology & diagnostics
- JNU New Delhi: review of long non-coding RNAs in tuberculosis pathogenesis and as candidate biomarkers and host-directed targets.Microbial Pathogenesis · PubMed 42994572
- Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram: zebrafish exposed to human rhinosporidiosis tissue showed no infection or Rhinosporidium seeberi sporangia at 30 or 90 days.Microbial Pathogenesis · PubMed 42994573
- ISF College of Pharmacy, Moga: smartphone-read paper biosensor detecting UTI-associated nitrite (LoD 0.670 ppm) and β-lactamase (LoD 0.324 U/mL) in artificial urine.Enzyme and Microbial Technology · PubMed 42994365
- AIIMS New Delhi: review of 18F-FDG PET/CT in fever and inflammation of unknown origin.PET Clinics · PubMed 42995018
- JIPMER Puducherry: review of 18F-FDG PET/CT in therapeutic decision-making for infectious and inflammatory disorders.PET Clinics · PubMed 42995019
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.
