ABSTRACT
Background: Estimating seroepidemiolgical prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody is an essential public health strategy. There is insufficient evidence of prevalence among those belonging to young age population in India. Objective: To compare the SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity rate between children and adults in selected sites from India. Materials and Methods: This was a multicentric population-based seroepidemiological study conducted in selected urban and rural areas of five sites selected from four states (Delhi, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura) of India. Participants aged ≥1 year were included from different clusters of each area. Total serum antibody against SARS-CoV-2 virus was assessed qualitatively by using a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Results: Data collection period was from 15 March 2021 to 10 June 2021. Total available data was of 4509 participants, of whom 700 were <18 years of age and 3809 were ≥18 years of age. The site-wise number of available data among those aged 2-17 years was 92, 189, 165, 146 and 108 for the sites of Delhi urban, Delhi rural, Bhubaneswar rural, Gorakhpur rural and Agartala rural area, respectively. The seroprevalence was 55.7% in the <18 years age group and 63.5% in the ≥18 years age group. The prevalence among female children was 58% and among male children was 53%. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity rate among children was high and comparable to that of the adult population. Hence, it is unlikely that any future third wave by prevailing SARS-CoV-2 variant would disproportionately infect children 2 years or older.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic currently expanded its roots to the 206 countries in the world. The morbidity and mortality are not only threat to humans but also its impact on economy is indirectly affecting us. The current review was done to find trend in various states of India. Data was collected from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and descriptive analysis of the distribution of COVID-19 cases in different states of India. First case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in southernmost state Kerala and after that it has spread to all other states, but situations are more worsen in states with high international migration. Maharashtra is now the most affected state followed by Delhi. Among epidemic curve of all these states, Maharashtra has rapidly growing epidemic curve with highest slope, whereas Kerala has the lowest. When we compared the day wise cumulative case fatality rate, it was found that the case fatality rate of the states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan showed decrease in the case fatality rate over the period. Population density is also one of the key determinants of social interaction and thus the spread of disease specifically in communicable diseases. Government of India had taken many strong initiatives e.g. 40 days nation-wide lockdown, thermal screening at airport, announcement of relief packages for poor and quarantine of outsiders but still there are many missed opportunities like, early stoppage of international traffic, compulsory quarantine for all international travellers, better contact tracing, strong law and order and better preparedness plan.