NIPH concerned about hidden infection among immigrants – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

Throughout the pandemic, there has been an overrepresentation of foreign-born. Both among those infected and among those hospitalized.

Now 54 percent of those in the intensive care unit were born outside of Norway, the latest FHI weekly report shows. The trend is increasing.

– When we look at the proportion of hospitalized patients born outside Norway, it is higher than the proportion of infected in the same group. For those born in Norway, there is roughly the same ratio in the two groups, says Chief Physician Trude Margrete Arnesen at FHI.

Worried about dark numbers

The NIPH is concerned about the obscure numbers and the lack of reports on the extent of the infection in the immigrant population.

– We are concerned about not contracting the infection. In the general population, we estimate that we only find approx. 40% of those infected. We are concerned that the proportion is even lower among some groups of foreign-born, says Arnesen.

Figures on hospitalizations are a good indication of the prevalence of infection if other conditions are similar. When the number of hospitalized patients in one group is greater than in other groups, there may be signs that the infection is more pronounced than has been discovered.

Another possible explanation is that some groups of immigrants are older or have a higher incidence of risk factors. But FHI believes that undetected infection is the most likely explanation, especially since the immigrant population is generally much younger.

NIPH cautions against “hanging out”

If it is the case that the immigrant population proves to a lesser extent, we must see why, says Trude Margrete Arnesen at FHI.

– There can be many barriers to testing. It may be the digital login that is difficult due to language issues. It may be that you don’t have a car and you can’t make it to the test station. Or it could be that you are afraid of what will happen if you test positive, says Arnesen.

– The fact that some groups are “hanging” because they have a lot of infection, can again lead to the individual refusing to be tested, says Arnesen, who strongly warns against this.

The fact that parts of the immigrant population have precarious jobs, especially those who are in Norway on short-term contracts, can also contribute to not being tested for fear of losing their job, believes the researcher.

The district: – We are in a serious situation

In the center of Mortensrud in the Søndre Nordstrand district, Nargis Jan is from the district. Find people you can stop to tell about the crown and encourage as many people as possible to get tested.

– We are in a serious situation, and we see that we must intensify our communication work, says Cindy Empaynado, district communications manager.

David Champathong, 20, has proven himself. When asked if you think someone is refusing to get tested, because they fear stigmatization if they have a crown, you have clear advice.

– Although there may be a lot of stigma around having a crown, it is much more courageous to go and test yourself. We must do this for public health, says Champathong.

High infection, low evidence?

Oslo and Bergen are now the epicenter of the spread of the infection in Norway. NRK has analyzed the extent of testing in Oslo over the past 14 days, relative to where in the city the infection is highest relative to population.

Thorough testing is an important part of the government’s strategy to combat the virus.

Our calculation shows a trend that the extent of testing is not proportional to the extent of infection in individual districts. Put another way: neighborhoods that have little evidence often have high infection rates.

Søndre Nordstrand, for example, has 39,000 inhabitants, between 4 and 5 percent of the inhabitants have been tested in the last 14 days. At the same time, the infection is high.

This means that statistically speaking, about 10 percent of those tested in the district are infected. In the districts of Grorud and Bjerke and Stovner, approximately 8% of those examined are, statistically speaking, infected. In the Alna district, it is around 10 percent. These are districts with a proportion of immigrants between 59 and 44 percent.

In comparison, between 3 and 4 percent of those examined are, purely statistically, infected in the districts of Ullern, Sagene, Nordre Aker and Østensjø. The proportion of immigrants is between 19 and 26 percent.

The proportion of positive tests throughout Oslo in the last seven days is 5.7%.

– Cultural differences

Infection control doctor Frode Hagen in the Oslo municipality says there is a difference between districts when it comes to how many people get tested.

– There can be many reasons for the variation in the number of people being tested, including distance to the testing center, the degree to which we come up with information about testing, different thresholds for requesting tests, or cultural differences such as shame and stigma that make someone refuse. themselves to prove themselves. We don’t know enough about the latter, but we are working to find out more about this, says Hagen.

He says a test station has now been established at Rommen in the Stovner district with offers for both drivers and pedestrians. A test station at Mortensrud in the Søndre Nordstrand district will also open for the same purpose next week.

The director of infection control says the figures NRK has received can be a bit misleading – an order may include an order for multiple tests, for example, an entire family. And that testing in heavily infected districts is now increasing more than in other districts.

– But the big picture is that there is a difference in testing between districts, says Hagen.

NRK has submitted the figures to the Oslo Municipality Health Service. The agency believes the figures are correct and that they take into account that many may have also been tested privately.

– These are not exact figures, but they give an idea of ​​what the situation is like in Oslo when it comes to differences between districts, says the communications manager of the Health Service.
Christian Ekker Larsen.

– More testing should be done in heavily infected areas.

FHI says that the NRK calculation is very interesting.

– The scope of the test should follow the infection rate, more should be tested in areas where there is a lot of infection, says Trude Margrete Arnesen at FHI, who says that we should all work to increase the test rate in the areas with more infection.

Otherwise, he praises Oslo for having tried so many in such a short time.