India draws up pathogen playbook

India’s top medical research agency is looking at ways to combat a silent but grave health crisis that kills over a million citizens every year, according to a World Health Organization report referencing 2019 data.

- Priyanka Sharma [e-mail]

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is designing a new priority pathogen testing framework to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to a scientist familiar with the plan and documents reviewed by Mint.

AMR, which happens when microbes such as bacteria and viruses, among others, develop resistance to antibiotics and other powerful drugs. It is counted as a major public health crisis in India due to the high number of deaths.

ICMR’s framework aims to standardize how hospitals and laboratories detect and diagnose infections, and is being created through extensive consultations with doctors, scientists and public health experts, the scientist said.

The first step has been to create a list of priority pathogens across four categories that need immediate attention.