Virus prevalence was up to 55% in containment zones | Economic Times

NEW DELHI: The sero prevalence in the containment zones ranged from 2.97%-55.17%, sources told ET. The findings are a part of the survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Council (ICMR) in the hot spots. The ICMR has ‘conveniently suppressed’ the crucial data from being published, prompting some experts to question the medical ethics of the premier health research body. The survey was done in containment zones of 12 hotspot cities between May 20 and June 3, 2020. More than three months on, the ICMR has not yet published the full details of the survey, while publishing some parts of it. “The ICMR has selectively published the data. Some part which they were not comfortable with was discussed at the top-level in the government but they conveniently buried it,” said one of the experts, requesting anonymity. Over 5,000 individuals were surveyed from 60 containment zones of 12 hotspot cities including Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Agra, Southeast Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Chennai, Kolkata. Sources disclosed that the survey found that in containment zones 16.0% of the population has been exposed to the virus. Ahmedabad had the highest prevalence of the virus, as reported by ET in July.To prevent the transmission, experts pointed out that it was important to continue containment measures at that point in time. The survey was conducted in containment zones of 12 hotspot cities between May 20 and June 3, 2020. A total of 6,694 households were visited during the time period. Sources further said that approximately half (50·9%) of the surveyed were males and of the 5,948 individuals tested, 993 were positive for IgG antibodies. It was seen that males, resident of urban slums, and occupations categorised as high risk for exposure to infected persons were associated with seropositivity.78225981The serosurvey was conducted in two parts to estimate the extent of people’s exposure to novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2. ICMR, the country’s premier medical research body, was to publish the results in its Indian Journal of Medical Research. ICMR had shared the details of part of the survey with members of the task force on epidemiology and surveillance only after drawing criticism from public health experts in the group for not sharing data. “The ICMR is the custodian of the data but that doesn’t mean that they can get away without publishing a part of the survey. These are not the medical ethics. The findings could have guided the public health response and hence it should not be buried,” added another expert. An email sent to ICMR remained unanswered till as of press time. The sero survey also has found that India had an estimated 64 lakh coronavirus cases by early May. While India’s official Covid count was 85,940 on May 15. This survey highlights the country had missed a significant proportion of cases in the first three months of the pandemic. The sero survey revealed that, for every confirmed case of Covid-19, there were 82 to 130 undiagnosed cases in May.