A sero-survey by the Health Department has found that around 21.5% of people residing in Puducherry region have been exposed to the novel coronavirus till September end.
The survey shows the number of people infected has increased by only around 1.5% last month as sero-surveys by Jawaharlal Institute of Postgradudate Medical Education and Research showed a rise in percentage of those infected from 5% in July to 20.7% by end of August.
“Our latest survey showed that around 21.5% of the people residing in the Union Territory got infected by COVID-19 by the end of September. In other words, one in five persons in Puducherry district showed evidence of COVID-19 infection by the end of September. It means the spread of the virus has been contained for the time,” a senior Health Department official told The Hindu.
The Department collected blood samples of 2,232 persons from across the district for SARS-CoV-2 virus antibodies. Of the total surveyed, 910 were men and 1,322 were women. A total of 482 persons were positive for the antibodies, of which 311 were women and 171 men, said an internal note prepared by the Department.
Sharing the findings of the survey, the official said unlike the study by Jipmer, the sero-survey by the Department included persons below the age group of 18 years. The positivity rate for antibodies among people up to 18 years was 24%, the official said.
The positivity in persons from 18 to 30 years was 17%, 31 to 45 years was 18%, 46 to 60 years was 24% and above 60 years was 30%. More women seemed to be infected than men. Extremes of ages were infected more and there was not much difference in the spread of the virus in urban and rural areas, the note said.
The Department was conducting a sero-survey in Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe regions. “It is an interim report and the findings will be released once the survey was completed in other regions,” said a senior official.