Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Subfield · Medicine

Infectious Diseases research

Infectious Diseases is a subfield of Medicine. Science Explorer counts 665k research works in it since 1950. 18.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: disease caused by infection of pathogenic biological agents in a host organism.

Research works
665k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
124k
per year above
Top-10% rate
18.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
21
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+85%
the tick is no change

This ranks research output and citation impact. It says nothing about the quality of diagnosis, treatment or care.

What is Infectious Diseases research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Epidemiology, SARS-CoV-2, ACE2 Receptor, Pandemic, Immune Response, Vaccine. Gaining share since 2009–13: Clinical Characteristics, Thrombosis, ACE2 Receptor, Pandemic, SARS-CoV-2. Losing share: Antiretroviral Therapy, Drug Resistance, MRSA, Staphylococcus aureus.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Epidemiology117k◆ 0.95×11 topics
  2. SARS-CoV-284k▲ 17×3 topics
  3. ACE2 Receptor74k▲ 18×2 topics
  4. Pandemic74k▲ 18×2 topics
  5. Immune Response69k▲ 1.71×5 topics
  6. Vaccine67k▲ 1.18×4 topics
  7. Clinical Characteristics41k▲ 49×1 topic
  8. Thrombosis41k▲ 49×1 topic
  9. Viral Transmission37k▲ 3.5×2 topics
  10. Pathogenesis36k▼ 0.63×4 topics
  11. Immunity34k▲ 6.3×2 topics
  12. Coronavirus33k▲ 10×1 topic
  13. spike protein33k▲ 10×1 topic
  14. Genetic Diversity26k▼ 0.63×2 topics
  15. Viral Load24k◆ 0.91×2 topics
  16. Diagnosis21k▼ 0.62×4 topics
  17. Treatment21k▼ 0.62×4 topics
  18. Antiretroviral Therapy20k▼ 0.46×2 topics
  19. Drug Resistance20k▼ 0.49×2 topics
  20. Healthcare-Associated Infections19k▼ 0.63×3 topics
  21. Public Health18k▼ 0.67×3 topics
  22. Zoonotic Infections15k▼ 0.65×2 topics
  23. HIV Transmission14k▼ 0.56×1 topic
  24. Preexposure Prophylaxis14k▼ 0.56×1 topic
  25. Mycobacterium tuberculosis14k▼ 0.62×1 topic
  26. Tuberculosis14k▼ 0.62×1 topic
  27. Norovirus13k▼ 0.52×1 topic
  28. Rotavirus13k▼ 0.52×1 topic
  29. Bunyavirus12k▼ 0.64×1 topic
  30. Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers12k▼ 0.64×1 topic
  31. Candidiasis9,880▼ 0.67×1 topic
  32. Invasive Fungal Infections9,880▼ 0.67×1 topic
  33. COVID-199,681▲ 9.8×1 topic
  34. Diagnostics9,681▲ 9.8×1 topic
  35. Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea7,769▼ 0.85×1 topic
  36. Fecal Microbiota Transplantation7,769▼ 0.85×1 topic
  37. MRSA7,439▼ 0.49×1 topic
  38. Staphylococcus aureus7,439▼ 0.49×1 topic
  39. Ebola Virus7,268◆ 1.04×1 topic
  40. Outbreak7,268◆ 1.04×1 topic

Which countries lead Infectious Diseases research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, China and the United Kingdom rank highest in Infectious Diseases. By volume, the United States and China publish the most (29k and 16k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 19.3% top 10% · 29k works
  2. 2 China · #3 all time 22.8% top 10% · 16k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #2 all time 24.0% top 10% · 5.6k works
  4. 4 India · #11 all time 8.7% top 10% · 11k works
  5. 5 Germany · #5 all time 20.6% top 10% · 3.7k works
  6. 6 Italy · #7 all time 20.6% top 10% · 4.2k works
  7. 7 France · #4 all time 19.3% top 10% · 3.5k works
  8. 8 Canada · #6 all time 21.2% top 10% · 3k works
  9. 9 Australia · #8 all time 22.7% top 10% · 2.5k works
  10. 10 Spain · #12 all time 16.3% top 10% · 3.5k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 72 countries ranked in Infectious Diseases. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Infectious Diseases

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 29k works
  2. 2 China 16k works
  3. 3 India 11k works
  4. 4 Brazil 5.8k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 5.6k works
  6. 6 Italy 4.2k works
  7. 7 Japan 4.2k works
  8. 8 Germany 3.7k works
  9. 9 Spain 3.5k works
  10. 10 France 3.5k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 33.5%China: 18.1%India: 13.2%Brazil: 6.7%6 others listed: 28.5%34%largest
United States29k · 33.5%China16k · 18.1%India11k · 13.2%Brazil5,802 · 6.7%6 others listed25k · 28.5%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Infectious Diseases research?

Harvard University (United States) ranks first in Infectious Diseases on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by University of Oxford and Johns Hopkins University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #2 all time 27.4% top 10% · 352 works
  2. 2 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #13 all time 32.6% top 10% · 237 works
  3. 3 Johns Hopkins University United States · Baltimore · #5 all time 25.2% top 10% · 418 works
  4. 4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention United States · Atlanta · #1 all time 25.6% top 10% · 312 works
  5. 5 Stanford University United States · Stanford · #11 all time 29.4% top 10% · 205 works
  6. 6 Washington University in St. Louis United States · St Louis · #8 all time 29.3% top 10% · 210 works
  7. 7 University of Washington United States · Seattle · #9 all time 24.9% top 10% · 279 works
  8. 8 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine United Kingdom · London · #12 all time 30.8% top 10% · 233 works
  9. 9 Imperial College London United Kingdom · London · #16 all time 33.0% top 10% · 203 works
  10. 10 National Institutes of Health United States · Bethesda · #3 all time 32.2% top 10% · 181 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 345 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Infectious Diseases.

Top 100 Infectious Diseases institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States 921 works
  2. 2 Johns Hopkins University United States 418 works
  3. 3 Harvard University United States 352 works
  4. 4 All India Institute of Medical Sciences India 338 works
  5. 5 Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Brazil 326 works
  6. 6 Universidade de São Paulo Brazil 314 works
  7. 7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention United States 312 works
  8. 8 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College China 304 works
  9. 9 Emory University United States 293 works
  10. 10 University of Washington United States 279 works

Who are the leading researchers in Infectious Diseases?

Among the most productive authors in Infectious Diseases, John P. A. Ioannidis, Aziz Sheikh and Vivekanand Jha rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 John P. A. Ioannidis United States · #10 worldwide 8k citations · 222 works
  2. 2 Aziz Sheikh United Kingdom · #17 worldwide 5.8k citations · 274 works
  3. 3 Vivekanand Jha India · #18 worldwide 5.8k citations · 232 works
  4. 4 Reza Malekzadeh Iran · #24 worldwide 6.7k citations · 167 works
  5. 5 Zulfiqar A Bhutta Pakistan · #29 worldwide 7k citations · 258 works
  6. 6 Giuseppe Remuzzi Italy · #34 worldwide 8.1k citations · 312 works
  7. 7 Yousef Khader Jordan · #42 worldwide 7.7k citations · 152 works
  8. 8 Ziad A. Memish Saudi Arabia · #58 worldwide 5.3k citations · 162 works
  9. 9 Nelson Alvis‐Guzmán Colombia · #62 worldwide 7.7k citations · 138 works
  10. 10 Simon I Hay United States · #67 worldwide 12k citations · 134 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,377 highest-output authors in Infectious Diseases. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Infectious Diseases researchers

Where is Infectious Diseases research done?

The largest centres of Infectious Diseases research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), London (United Kingdom), Paris (France) and New York (United States). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Kol'tsovo, Addlestone and Ananindeua.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 2.9k works
  2. 2 London United Kingdom 2k works
  3. 3 Paris France 1.5k works
  4. 4 New York United States 1.3k works
  5. 5 Tokyo Japan 1.2k works
  6. 6 São Paulo Brazil 1.2k works
  7. 7 Tehran Iran 1.2k works
  8. 8 New Delhi India 1.2k works
  9. 9 Shanghai China 1.2k works
  10. 10 Moscow Russia 1.2k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Kol'tsovoRU · 45.9 works25×
  2. AddlestoneGB · 37.8 works23×
  3. AnanindeuaBR · 53.5 works21×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Infectious Diseases than the world average.

See Infectious Diseases on the map

Infectious Diseases research by country

The best places for Infectious Diseases research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Infectious Diseases?

Among universities, judged by research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and University of Gondar score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 28.11%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine: 233, 30.8%The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston: 159, 29.3%University of Gondar: 110, 27.2%Makerere University: 174, 18.5%University of Oxford: 237, 32.6%University of Hong Kong: 174, 34.4%University of Chinese Academy of Sciences: 111, 32.0%Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences: 64, 18.1%Johns Hopkins University: 418, 25.2%Imperial College London: 203, 33.0%London School of Hyg…The University of Te…University of GondarMakerere University
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine United Kingdom 71.130.8%11.2×233 +28.4%
2The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston United States 50.429.3%6.6×159 +21.9%
3University of Gondar Ethiopia 49.627.2%5.3×110 +124.7%
4Makerere University Uganda 47.118.5%7.0×174 +14.4%
5University of Oxford United Kingdom 46.732.6%1.4×237 +36.2%
6University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 46.034.4%1.5×174 -11.8%
7University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China 46.032.0%0.5×111 +251.1%
8Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences Tanzania 45.618.1%10.1×64 -6.0%
9Johns Hopkins University United States 45.525.2%2.8×418 +12.9%
10Imperial College London United Kingdom 45.133.0%1.6×203 -0.3%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Infectious Diseases research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 85% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2021. The fastest-growing topics are SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing, Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research and Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing+254%
  2. Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research+168%
  3. Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research+157%
  4. COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies+156%
  5. Infection Control in Healthcare+119%
  6. Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology+104%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Infectious Diseases include?

Viral gastroenteritis re…64kViral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology: 64k fractional worksHIV/AIDS Research and In…61kHIV/AIDS Research and Interventions: 61k fractional worksTuberculosis Research and Epidemiology: 61k fractional worksViral Infections and Vectors: 52k fractional worksCOVID-19 Clinical Research Studies: 51k fractional worksSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research: 48k fractional worksHIV/AIDS drug development and treatment: 46k fractional worksAntifungal resistance an…43kAntifungal resistance and susceptibility: 43k fractional worksAntimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococcus: 38k fractional worksClostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research: 30k fractional worksViral Infections and Outbreaks Research: 25k fractional worksParvovirus B19 Infection Studies: 23k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.