Andhra Pradesh: 1 in 5 affected by Covid-19, reveals sero survey

VIJAYAWADA: One in five people in AP has been hit by Covid-19 if the results of the sero survey conducted by the state government is any indication. The survey revealed that 19.7% of the state’s population was affected by Covid-19, though many may not have exhibited the symptoms.
Katamaneni Bhaskar, commissioner for health and family welfare, said on Thursday that the survey, conducted across the state in two phases, revealed that 19.5% of men and 19.9% of women in the state were affected by the virus.
“Sero surveillance provides estimates of antibody levels against infectious diseases and is considered as gold standard for measuring population immunity due to past infection or vaccination.
It was conducted in two phases. The first phase was held from August 5 to 15 in Krishna, East Godavari, Nellore and Anantapur districts. The second phase of the survey was conducted from August 26 to 31 in the remaining districts,” Bhaskar said.
Five thousand samples from each district were tested. Covid-19 prevalence was found to be high in urban areas where 22.5% of samples tested positive. In rural areas, only 18.2% of samples returned positive. Altogether, 20.5% of general population in containment zones tested positive, while it was 19.3% in non-containment areas. The survey further showed that 20.3% of high risk population was affected by the virus.
Vizianagaram district topped the survey’s second phase with an infection rate of 30.6 per cent, with Kurnool coming second with 28.1 per cent overall infection rate. Asymptotic positivity rate in Chittoor district was 100 per cent, followed by Guntur and Prakasam districts (98.5%).