Typhoid emerges as India’s most-confirmed monsoon fever, with 1 in 4 tests positive

Typhoid has emerged as the most-confirmed fever among four illnesses tracked by PharmEasy’s Fever Watch this monsoon, with 25.5% of tests returning positive, or roughly one in four tests. The data comes as overall monsoon fever risk rises across India, with 186 of the 209 cities tracked now showing higher risk than at the beginning of the season.

Typhoid outpaces dengue

According to PharmEasy’s data through August 12, 2026, typhoid recorded a test-positivity rate of 25.5%, significantly higher than dengue at 8.5%, chikungunya at 1.8% and malaria at 1.4%.

While positivity for the three mosquito-borne diseases has declined compared with the same period last year, typhoid has remained broadly stable, making it the most prominent confirmed fever signal in the dataset.

The findings also highlight that the monsoon fever landscape extends beyond mosquito-borne diseases. Typhoid is primarily associated with contaminated food and water, making drinking water safety, food hygiene and sanitation particularly important during the rainy season.

PharmEasy also cautioned that some typhoid tests can produce false-positive results, and said diagnosis and treatment should be guided by a doctor rather than self-diagnosis.

Monsoon Fever Risk

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Seven high-risk cities driven by typhoid

Typhoid is currently driving seven of the 10 cities classified as HIGH risk by Fever Watch. As of August 12, 196 of the 209 cities tracked were in the MODERATE category, 10 were HIGH and three were LOW-MODERATE.

Panaji recorded the highest overall risk score at 94, driven by dengue, while Bokaro and Gwalior followed with scores of 79 and 78 respectively, both driven by typhoid.

The highest confirmed laboratory signals included a score of 100 for typhoid in Gwalior and Amritsar, while Panaji recorded a 100 laboratory signal for dengue.

Why typhoid stands out

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Overall fever risk is rising

The broader Fever Watch data points to an increase in monsoon-related health risks. The national fever risk score rose from 47 in the first week of the season to 61 by August 12.

At the same time, the national weather and breeding signal increased from 48 to 87, while 14-day national rainfall rose from around 35 mm at the beginning of the season to approximately 133 mm.

PharmEasy said cities including Karimnagar and Ramagundam in Telangana, Chandrapur in Maharashtra and Jaipur in Rajasthan have recorded particularly sharp increases in risk.

Historical Fever Watch patterns indicate that overall fever risk generally remains elevated from August into the later monsoon months. Dengue test positivity during the 2025 season continued to rise through the monsoon and peaked in late October.

Not every monsoon fever is dengue

“Every monsoon, fever is often dismissed as ‘viral’ or immediately associated with dengue. But our data shows that the picture is more complex,” said Gaurav Verma, Chief Business Officer, PharmEasy.

PharmEasy’s Fever Watch tracks dengue, malaria, chikungunya and typhoid across 209 cities, combining weather and breeding conditions, public search trends and aggregate city-level laboratory test-positivity data.

The company stressed that Fever Watch is a risk indicator, not a diagnostic tool, and does not represent case counts or predict whether an individual will fall ill.

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