Recent signals
Foreign-ministry advisories
Practical guidance
What the disease sub-score covers
India’s disease sub-score is 66/100 (moderate band). It combines endemic baseline (the diseases that are always present at some level) with acute outbreak signals from WHO Disease Outbreak News, CDC traveller notices, and ECDC bulletins. A drop in the sub-score typically reflects a fresh outbreak rather than a worsening baseline; the events feed above lists what is driving today’s number. Endemic risk is what your vaccinations and basic hygiene protect against; outbreak risk is what determines whether the trip itself should be reconsidered.
Food, water, and mosquitoes
The three traveller-illness vectors that account for most self-reported sickness: contaminated water (tap, ice cubes, salad washed in tap), undercooked food (especially shellfish and street meat), and mosquito-borne disease (dengue, chikungunya, malaria, Zika). The defensive rules are well established: bottled or filtered water only in higher-risk destinations, cooked food served hot, peel fruit yourself, and use DEET- or picaridin-based repellent in dengue-active areas at dawn and dusk. The India vaccinations page lists which immunisations specifically reduce risk for this country.
If an outbreak is in the news
A new WHO Disease Outbreak News article triggers a drop in the sub-score within 24 hours of publication; the events feed shows the source. Read the WHO article rather than secondary coverage: outbreak severity often gets amplified in travel press relative to the agency’s actual assessment. The Field Manual guide When an outbreak hits a destination you’ve booked walks through the decision tree: when to cancel, when to push, when to alter the itinerary.
Related for India
Long-form context
India is a continent-scale country with continent-scale variation. Framing it as a single destination misses the point: a Goa beach holiday, a Kerala backwater itinerary, a Rajasthan palace circuit, a Ladakh high-altitude trek, and a Delhi-Agra-Varanasi tourist sweep all carry different risk profiles. The country is broadly listed at the standard tier of caution by every major foreign ministry, with partial-area warnings for Jammu and Kashmir, the Indo-Pakistani border, and parts of the northeast. The structural risks for the standard visitor are concentrated and addressable: persistent scam and overcharging patterns in tourist hubs, the world’s most consistent gastric-illness exposure (Delhi belly affects an estimated 60-70 percent of first-time visitors), winter air pollution in the north (Delhi PM2.5 routinely exceeds 500 in November and December), traffic injury risk that dominates everything else, and a women’s safety landscape that is widely discussed but rarely calibrated. This guide unpacks the e-Visa, the regional risk map, the rail and ride-share systems, the gastric and pollution discipline, the women’s safety reality, and the practical contacts that shape an Indian itinerary.
Frequently asked about India
Are there any active disease outbreaks in India?
India's disease sub-score is 66/100. Active outbreaks are listed in the recent-signals feed above, sourced from WHO Disease Outbreak News, CDC traveller notices, and ECDC bulletins. A drop in the sub-score typically reflects a fresh outbreak rather than a worsening baseline.
What diseases are common in India?
Endemic disease patterns vary by region within India. The three traveller-illness vectors that account for most reported sickness anywhere: contaminated water, undercooked food, and mosquito-borne disease (dengue, chikungunya, malaria, Zika depending on region). The vaccinations page lists which immunisations specifically reduce risk for this country.
Is the water safe to drink in India?
Tap water safety varies by region and infrastructure. In most non-OECD destinations, default to bottled or filtered water for drinking, ice, and brushing teeth; salads washed in tap water carry the same risk. The country safety guide's healthcare chapter covers the specific destination assessment.