According to the findings of a sero survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) between June 14 and July 6, at least two-thirds of the population surveyed in 11 states had developed coronavirus antibodies.
With 79 % seroprevalence, Madhya Pradesh is at the top of the list, while Kerala is at the bottom with 44.4 %. Seroprevalence is 50.3 % in Assam and 58 % in Maharashtra.
The Union Health Ministry published the results of the fourth round of countrywide serosurvey conducted by the ICMR across 70 districts in India on Wednesday.
Seroprevalence was found to be 76.2 % in Rajasthan, 75.9% in Bihar, 75.3 % in Gujarat, 74.6 % in Chhattisgarh, 73.1 % in Uttarakhand, 71 % in Uttar Pradesh, 70.2 % in Andhra Pradesh, 69.8% in Karnataka, 69.2% in Tamil Nadu, and 68.1 % in Odisha among the surveyed population.
In light of the findings, the Ministry of Health has recommended states and union territories to undertake their own seroprevalence studies in cooperation with the ICMR to ensure that they follow a standardized approach.
The results of such surveys can therefore be used by governments to drive an objective, transparent, and evidence-based public health response to COVID-19 rapidly.
“The national sero-survey by ICMR was designed to capture the extent of the spread of Covid infection at the national level. Therefore, the national serosurvey results do not reflect the heterogeneity of seroprevalence between districts and even between states,” a statement said.