# Exploring the landscape of lymphatic filariasis research in India: A scientometric analysis of two decades from 2000 to 2024

## TL;DR

This study maps global and Indian research on lymphatic filariasis from 2000 to 2024, revealing a decline in India's output and a need for stronger international collaboration.

## Contribution

The paper provides a scientometric analysis of LF research trends, highlighting India's declining role and the need for strategic global partnerships.

## Key findings

- India's LF research output peaked in 2012 but declined to 12 articles in 2018.
- High-income countries dominate citation impact and collaborations, while low- and middle-income countries lag despite high publication volume.
- Research themes have shifted from parasitology to microbiology, pharmacology, and science & technology.

## Abstract

The launch of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) in 2000 catalysed a surge in research and programmatic initiatives worldwide. However, a systematic evaluation of global LF research output over the past two decades remains limited. This scientometric analysis maps LF research from 2000 to 2024, with a special focus on India’s contribution.

Original research articles on LF published between 2000 and 2024 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection using title-specific MeSH keywords. Bibliographic data were analysed using the bibliometrix package in R. A total of 1,746 documents were identified, with an average annual growth rate of 1.13%. Global output peaked in 2014, while India’s highest was in 2012. India showed a declining trend, reaching a low of 12 articles in 2018. The USA led in overall publication output (21.1%), followed by India (18.3%) and the UK (10.3%). Despite high volume, India exhibits fewer international collaborations and a moderate citation impact. Major contributors included the Indian Council of Medical Research (219 publications) and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (152). Although parasitology remained a dominant theme, there was a gradual shift toward microbiology, pharmacology, and science and technology. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases was the most productive journal. Globally, the Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health were leading funders, while the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the ICMR were India’s leading domestic funders.

LF research in India has shown a noticeable decline since 2017, despite its high disease burden. High-income countries dominate in citation impact and collaborations, whereas low- and middle-income countries, including India, lag behind even with a high publication volume. Strategic efforts to strengthen international partnerships, research funding, equitable co-authorship between endemic and non-endemic countries, facilitating early-career exchange programmes, adopting open-access agreements and building institutional capacity are essential to enhance the impact of LF research in India and other endemic countries. Equally important is ensuring that research priorities and implementation strategies are tailored to local programmatic and epidemiological contexts.

Lymphatic filariasis is a mosquito-borne disease targeted for global elimination. Since the launch of the Global Programme to Eliminate LF in 2000, scientific interest and programmatic efforts have expanded. However, how LF research has evolved during this period has not been systematically studied. We examined research articles on LF published between 2000 and 2024, focusing on global trends and India’s role. Our findings show that an initial rise in research output, followed by a decline in recent years, especially in India. High-income countries such as the USA and the UK lead influential research, often in collaboration with others. In contrast, many low- and middle-income countries tend to publish more in isolation and receive fewer citations. Recent years have seen diversification in LF research themes to areas including microbiology, pharmacology and science & technology. As the global program aims to eliminate the disease in 58 of the 72 affected countries by 2030, stronger support, collaboration, and investment are needed for endemic countries like India to sustain progress and close the final mile.