The Division of Bacteriology plays a crucial role in various research activities related to enteric and blood-borne pathogens. Our priority areas of research include generating evidence on AMR, studying the molecular epidemiology of the pathogens, and developing diagnostics to create sustainable prevention strategies. These efforts align with the World Health Organization's (WHO) mission to combat AMR in human health by 2030.

National Repository of Antimicrobial Bacteria (NRAMRB), a facility under the “AMR hub,” has been established to address AMR research across India (https://nramrb.org.in). This is a state-of-the-art facility at the national level where representative bacterial strains with antimicrobial resistance profiles and genome information are available. This is a valued source for obtaining well-characterized strains for researchers in academia and commercial entities. The Division also maintains a large collection of well-characterized bacterial enteropathogens and contributes significantly to enteric disease research in India.

The clinical bacteriology laboratory of the Division has been accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) as per ISO 15189:2012 ''Medical laboratories - Requirements for quality and competence'' since 2016. The scope included culture, identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing of the organisms from blood, stool, and rectal swabs, along with Widal test from serum. This laboratory has also been listed as a WHO Pre-Qualification Evaluating Laboratory for the analyte V. cholerae antigen since 2019.

The division is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment facilities. The Division’s multifaceted research include isolating, identifying, and characterizing enteric and septicemic pathogens from the hospital/ community through systematic surveillance, supporting vaccine trials, confirmation, and serotyping. Outer membrane vesicle-based non-replicating candidate vaccines against Shigella and Salmonella infections have been developed in the Division and patented. These candidate vaccines showed promising results when tested in appropriate animal models. The Division's scientist works on Helicobacter pylori and extensively characterizes the pathogen at the molecular level in samples collected from duodenal ulcer patients and asymptomatic individuals. Division scientists undertake diarrheal outbreak investigations to analyze the etiology and support health authorities in implementing containment measures in minimal time.

The Vibrio phage reference Laboratory of the Division developed phage-typing schemes for V. cholerae O1 and characterized V. cholerae O139 phages. Primary ongoing activities include isolating, characterizing, and implementing phages for typing bacterial strains. Research on developing lytic phage cocktails with potential therapeutic use is ongoing. Successful implementation of phage cocktail-based therapeutics will have tremendous value for treating infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria.

The division organizes training programs on conventional microbiology and molecular typing at national and international levels, with support from ICMR. Specialized training is also conducted with support from the World Health Organization (WHO).

ICMR primarily supports the Division's ongoing research activities. The Division receives extramural funding from national and international organizations, such as the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, Council of Scientific Industrial Research, Govt. of India, the Japan Initiative for Global Research Network on Infectious Diseases (J-GRID), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan, and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) through Okayama University, Japan; Funding from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), Tokyo, Japan.