Seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a rural district of Tamil Nadu: A population-based seroepidemiological study
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a recent global pandemic of the era which posed a great challenge for the health care in terms of preventive, diagnostic and treatment dimensions. The seroprevalence rate of COVID IgG antibodies is very crucial in estimating the susceptibility of a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Asian Journal of Medical Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/AJMS/article/view/50853 |
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| author | Kannan G Aruna P Nithyavikasini N Kumar Raja M |
| author_facet | Kannan G Aruna P Nithyavikasini N Kumar Raja M |
| author_sort | Kannan G |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a recent global pandemic of the era which posed a great challenge for the health care in terms of preventive, diagnostic and treatment dimensions. The seroprevalence rate of COVID IgG antibodies is very crucial in estimating the susceptibility of a particular area to the viral disease. In our study, we estimated the seroprevalence of COVID-19 in a rural area.
Aims and Objectives: We aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of COVID-19 in a rural district of Tamil Nadu, 6 months after the index case.
Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 509 adults aged more than 18 years. From all the seven Taluks, two gram panchayats (administrative cluster of 8–10 villages) were randomly selected followed by one village through convenience. The participants were invited for the study to the community-based study kiosk set up in all the eight villages through village health committees. We collected sociodemographic characteristics and symptoms using a mobile application-based questionnaire, and we tested samples for the presence of IgG antibodies for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 using an electro chemiluminescent immunoassay. We calculated age-gender adjusted and test performance adjusted seroprevalence.
Results: The age-and gender-adjusted seroprevalence was 8.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.9–10.8%). The unadjusted seroprevalence among participants with hypertension and diabetes was 16.3% (95% CI: 9.2–25.8) and 10.7% (95% CI: 5.5–18.3), respectively. When we adjusted for the test performance, the seroprevalence was 6.1% (95% CI 4.02–8.17). The study estimated 7 (95% CI 1:4.5–1:9) undetected infected individuals for every reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmed case. Infection fatality rate (IFR) was calculated as 12.38/10,000 infections as on October 22, 2020. History of self-reported symptoms and education were significantly associated with positive status (P<0.05).
Conclusion: A significant proportion of the rural population in a district of Tamil Nadu remains susceptible to COVID-19. A higher proportion of susceptible, relatively higher IFR, and a poor tertiary health-care network stress the importance of sustaining the public health measures and promoting early access to the vaccine are crucial to preserving the health of this population. Low population density, good housing, adequate ventilation, limited urbanization combined with public, private, and local health leadership are critical components of curbing future respiratory pandemics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:07:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-89a6c1ae8ccb4e0f8c8d1b465fc52536 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2467-9100 2091-0576 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:07:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Asian Journal of Medical Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-89a6c1ae8ccb4e0f8c8d1b465fc525362023-04-01T09:28:26ZengManipal College of Medical Sciences, PokharaAsian Journal of Medical Sciences2467-91002091-05762023-04-011441116https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v14i4.50853Seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a rural district of Tamil Nadu: A population-based seroepidemiological studyKannan G 0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6186-0862Aruna P 1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6052-2383Nithyavikasini N 2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2220-1810Kumar Raja M 3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9376-2933Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, Government Dharmapuri Medical College, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, Government Dharmapuri Medical College, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, Government Vellore Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India Associate Professor, Department of General Medicine, Government Dharmapuri Medical College, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a recent global pandemic of the era which posed a great challenge for the health care in terms of preventive, diagnostic and treatment dimensions. The seroprevalence rate of COVID IgG antibodies is very crucial in estimating the susceptibility of a particular area to the viral disease. In our study, we estimated the seroprevalence of COVID-19 in a rural area. Aims and Objectives: We aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of COVID-19 in a rural district of Tamil Nadu, 6 months after the index case. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 509 adults aged more than 18 years. From all the seven Taluks, two gram panchayats (administrative cluster of 8–10 villages) were randomly selected followed by one village through convenience. The participants were invited for the study to the community-based study kiosk set up in all the eight villages through village health committees. We collected sociodemographic characteristics and symptoms using a mobile application-based questionnaire, and we tested samples for the presence of IgG antibodies for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 using an electro chemiluminescent immunoassay. We calculated age-gender adjusted and test performance adjusted seroprevalence. Results: The age-and gender-adjusted seroprevalence was 8.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.9–10.8%). The unadjusted seroprevalence among participants with hypertension and diabetes was 16.3% (95% CI: 9.2–25.8) and 10.7% (95% CI: 5.5–18.3), respectively. When we adjusted for the test performance, the seroprevalence was 6.1% (95% CI 4.02–8.17). The study estimated 7 (95% CI 1:4.5–1:9) undetected infected individuals for every reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmed case. Infection fatality rate (IFR) was calculated as 12.38/10,000 infections as on October 22, 2020. History of self-reported symptoms and education were significantly associated with positive status (P<0.05). Conclusion: A significant proportion of the rural population in a district of Tamil Nadu remains susceptible to COVID-19. A higher proportion of susceptible, relatively higher IFR, and a poor tertiary health-care network stress the importance of sustaining the public health measures and promoting early access to the vaccine are crucial to preserving the health of this population. Low population density, good housing, adequate ventilation, limited urbanization combined with public, private, and local health leadership are critical components of curbing future respiratory pandemics.https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/AJMS/article/view/50853seroprevalance; igg antibodies; anti sars-cov2 assay; reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; chemiluminescent immunoassay; infection fatality rate |
| spellingShingle | Kannan G Aruna P Nithyavikasini N Kumar Raja M Seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a rural district of Tamil Nadu: A population-based seroepidemiological study Asian Journal of Medical Sciences seroprevalance; igg antibodies; anti sars-cov2 assay; reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; chemiluminescent immunoassay; infection fatality rate |
| title | Seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a rural district of Tamil Nadu: A population-based seroepidemiological study |
| title_full | Seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a rural district of Tamil Nadu: A population-based seroepidemiological study |
| title_fullStr | Seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a rural district of Tamil Nadu: A population-based seroepidemiological study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a rural district of Tamil Nadu: A population-based seroepidemiological study |
| title_short | Seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a rural district of Tamil Nadu: A population-based seroepidemiological study |
| title_sort | seroprevalence of covid 19 infection in a rural district of tamil nadu a population based seroepidemiological study |
| topic | seroprevalance; igg antibodies; anti sars-cov2 assay; reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; chemiluminescent immunoassay; infection fatality rate |
| url | https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/AJMS/article/view/50853 |
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