India had 6.4 million cases by early May

About 6.4 million infections of novel coronavirus were estimated in India by the early May, the sero survey by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed. The apex body published the findings of the much awaited survey late on Thursday evening. The survey indicated that the overall seroprevalence in India was low, with less than one per cent of the adult population exposed to novel coronavirus by mid-May 2020. “The low prevalence observed in most districts indicates that India is in the early phase of the epidemic and the majority of the Indian population is still susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection,” it said. The seropositivity was found to be highest in the age-group of 18-45 years (43.3), followed by those between 46-60 years (39.5 ). The lowest seropositivity was detected in those aged above 60 (17.2). The seroprevalence ranged between 0.62 and 1.03 per cent across the four strata of districts from which data was collected, it said. A total of 30,283 households were visited from 700 clusters in 70 districts across the four strata including zero cases- 15 districts, Low cases- 22 districts, Medium cases – 16, high cases 17 districts, for the sero survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).“The present findings of seropositivity in the strata of districts with zero to a low incidence of COVID-19 cases underscore the need to strengthen surveillance and augment the testing of suspected cases in these areas,” it added. The survey also said that about one-fourth (25.9 per cent) of the surveyed clusters were from urban areas.

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