A critical serological survey was conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The reports say India could be witnessing a much wider spread of coronavirus infections and the rate of contagion may be a lot higher in most-affected cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune. The survey report is likely to be made public early next week.
The preliminary findings from the survey were shared with the Union cabinet secretary and also the Prime Minister's Office.
The serological (blood) test detects the presence of coronavirus antibodies in a person and indicates whether he/she had contracted the virus. It is especially helpful in understanding the spread among asymptomatic people.
A senior scientist in the ICMR said the findings will be made public once the data from all the districts is collected.
"We will make the report public once we are able to analyse the entire dataset. It can be out early next week," he said.
The data from at least seven or eight districts is yet to be analysed.
A public health expert from Ahmedabad said while India has not officially accepted it is witnessing community transmission, the infection, at least, is in the local-transmission mode.
"The sero survey will show the extent of infection among asymptomatic people. The RT-PCR testing of symptomatic people is only the tip of the iceberg, as most people are asymptomatic," he said.
Samples were collected from 10 hotspot cities -- Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Delhi, Kolkata, Indore, Jaipur, and Chennai.
The ELISA test developed by the Pune-based National Institute of Virology having higher levels of accuracy is being used for the survey.
