Diseases (Health).
Syllabus: UPSC Pre GS1: General Science; Mains GS3: S&T developments
One Health for UPSC: meaning, zoonoses and spillover, drivers, Quadripartite of FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH, India's National One Health Mission, gaps,…
Antimicrobial resistance for UPSC: how resistance develops, deaths and burden, causes in India, Red Line, colistin ban, AWaRe, NAP-AMR 2.0 and way…
A PIB backgrounder on 13 October 2026 says India's yearly emerging TB cases fell 21% from 2015 to 2024, against a 12% global fall. Treatment coverage is 92% versus 78% worldwide. The same day a JOSH youth campaign began in 11 States and 55 districts to push screening, treatment and stigma reduction.
UPSC angle: Prelims: NTEP, BPaLM, Nikshay Poshan, JOSH, WHO report figures. · Mains GS-II: health programmes; SDG 3; community mobilisation.
13 Oct 2026
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology called for making diabetes prevention a national priority, saying rural India is no longer untouched by the disease. He launched the RSSDI Diabetes Rural Outreach Digital Portal and VISHWAS, a diabetes awareness video library, at an RSSDI programme held on Independence Day 2026.
UPSC angle: Mains: NCD prevention.
16 Aug 2026
On 5 August 2026 the Health Ministry deployed a National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) to Gujarat and Rajasthan for the Chandipura Virus Disease outbreak. The team draws experts from NCDC, ICMR and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Scientists are also checking whether insects other than sandflies spread the virus and whether animals carry it.
UPSC angle: Prelims: vectors.
5 Aug 2026
Since 2018, India's National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme has offered free screening, diagnostics and drugs for hepatitis B and C, a PIB backgrounder said on 27 July 2026, a day before World Hepatitis Day. The 2021 HIV Sentinel Surveillance found about 0.85 per cent positive for hepatitis B and 0.29 per cent for hepatitis C.
UPSC angle: Prelims: hepatitis types and routes.
27 Jul 2026
The Civil Aviation Ministry and Delhi International Airport Limited launched Air Suvidha 2.0 on 25 June 2026, a contactless health self-declaration portal for international arrivals. It follows WHO's declaration on 17 May 2026 of the Ebola/Bundibugyo virus outbreak in DR Congo and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under IHR 2005.
UPSC angle: Prelims: PHEIC, IHR 2005, Ebola species.
25 Jun 2026
On 17 May 2026 WHO determined the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the IHR 2005. Africa CDC declared a continental emergency. On 24 May India advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to DRC, Uganda and South Sudan. India has reported no Bundibugyo cases.
UPSC angle: Prelims: PHEIC.
24 May 2026