1 in 9 persons tested found positive for infectious disease in ICMR study

New Delhi: Pathogens were found in 11.1 per cent of the 4.5 lakh patients tested by the network of labs under the Indian Council of Medical Research as part of efforts to identify viral infections of public health significance.

The top five pathogens detected were Influenza A in acute respiratory infection (ARI)/ severe acute respiratory infections (SARI cases), dengue virus among acute fever and haemorrhagic fever cases, Hepatitis A in jaundice cases, Norovirus in among acute diarrheal disease (ADD) outbreaks and Herpes simplex virus (HSV) in Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) cases.

The spread of infectious diseases rose from 10.7 per cent in the first quarter to 11.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, according to the report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) According to the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) network of ICMR, between January and March, out of 2,28,856 samples, 24,502 (10.7 per cent) were found to contain pathogens from April to June 2025, 26,055 (11.5 per cent) out of 2,26,095 samples tested positive. Thus, the infection rate rose by 0.8 percentage points over the previous quarter, signalling the need for stronger monitoring of infection trends.

According to a senior scientist while this increase may not appear large, it should not be underestimated - it could serve as a warning for seasonal diseases and emerging infections.

If we continue tracking quarterly changes in infection rates, future epidemics could be prevented in time. The VRDL network acts as an early warning system for the country.

The ICMR report found that between April and June this year, 191 disease cluster were investigated and infectious diseases such as mumps, measles, rubella, dengue, chikungunya, rotavirus, norovirus, varicella zoster virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and astrovirus were identified.

Between January and March, 389 disease clusters were investigated and infectious diseases such as mumps, measles, rubella, hepatitis, dengue, chikungunya, rotavirus, influenza, Leptospira, Varicella zoster virus and Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were identified.

From 2014-2024, more than 40 lakh samples were tested with pathogen identified in 18.8 per cent.

The VRDLN expanded from 27 laboratories in 2014 to 165 laboratories across 31 states and UTs by 2025. Through this network, 2,534 disease clusters have been identified across the country so far.