1 Covid patient infected 12 others in Karnataka, reveals Sero Survey amid looming 3rd wave threat

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Bengaluru, Aug 13, 2021: A serosurvey conducted in Karnataka earlier this year, the report of which was published recently after much delay, has revealed that one Covid patient in the state infected at least 12 others in January.

 

According to a report in Hindustan Times, the findings of the second state serosurvey are expected to help epidemiologists plan the future course of action amid the looming threat of a third wave. The findings also reveal that Mysuru reported the highest seroprevalence, followed by Madhya, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar and Kolar.

While the lowest protection was witnessed among people aged between 18 and 29, those aged between 50 and 59 had the highest protection against Covid in January-February, the HT report said.

The results of the second serosurvey have highlighted that the state was far from attaining natural immunity against Covid-19 in January this year and thus there is a need to step up vaccination coverage and laying out of rules to prevent the disease from spreading.

The results eight months later on a preprint server and found antibodies in 15.6 percent of the population and active Covid infection in just 0.5 percent.

The study of 41,228 participants across 290 healthcare facilities in all 30 districts of Karnataka was done among three groups of participants namely low, moderate, and high risk. This study found the Statewide infection fatality rate (IFR) to be 0.11 percent, and Covid-19 burden between 26.1 to 37.7 percent.

At present, Karnataka is witnessing a surge in cases due to a mix of alpha, and delta variants which have been picking up speed since April.

Alarmed by the rise in cases, the state government has now made it mandatory for travellers from Maharashtra and Kerala to furnish Covid-19 negative reports not older than 72 hours to enter the state. However, people vaccinated with both the doses of the Covid-19 vaccines have been exempted.