Coronavirus in Karnataka: “It is possible that 1.93 million people in Karnataka have already been exposed to Covid-19” | Bengaluru News


BENGALURU: Up to 16.4% of the surveyed population had developed IgG antibodies, indicating that they were infected with Covid-19 in the past in Karnataka, as revealed by a second round of sero-survey conducted to assess exposure to the SARS virus -Cov2.
The results of the sero-survey were published here Wednesday.
In addition, 12.7% of the apparently healthy population in the surveyed area were found to have an active infection, as they tested positive on the rapid antigen test or the RT-PCR test. The overall adjusted prevalence of Covid-19 was 27.3% (combined IgG and active infection), said K Sudhakar, Karnataka’s health minister.
Of the 16,585 people surveyed who covered the three different risk categories (low, mild, moderate), the results of the RAT, RT-PCR and ELISA Covid Kavach antibody tests were consistent for 15,624 people.
“Following the study, we can say that about 1.93 million million people in Karnataka may have already been exposed to the virus,” said Dr. Giridhara R Babu, epidemiologist, member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the management of Covid- 19, Karnataka and the research director of the study.
The study was conducted from September 3-16, 2020. Participants came from locations centered on 290 hospitals spread across Karnataka.
The Karnataka government stated that, compared to other studies in India, the survey conducted in the state has captured the total prevalence, which includes information on current and past infections.

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