People without masks at Kamatibaug in Vadodara
Vadodara: A lactating mother staying in the eastern part of the city tested positive for Covid-19 this week. It came to light that she had not left her house for the last six months and none of her close contacts were positive
The case of this mother is not an isolated one, and in most Covid-19 cases reported over a period of time, it seems that its one off. No close contacts or persons at places where the person has spent time in the recent past are found positive.
Obtaining extensive details of individual cases has become possible again as the number of new cases reported every day is now in single digits. It is also possible to conduct tests or keep track of the health of those staying with the infected person. Hardly any case of even those staying with the infected persons are coming to light.
“It is becoming difficult to identify from where the person is getting the infection. This was expected when there were a large number of cases in the city as the caseload was very high. At that stage, people could have been infected anywhere. But that is not the case anymore and still we do not know where the person got infected,” said a VMC health department official.
Dr V S Mazumdar, former professor and head of the department of community medicine at the Baroda Medical College, said that such infections were possible due to asymptomatic cases in the community who may be infecting others. “Another possibility is that of some variant infecting the person who tested positive,” he said.
Dr Mazumdar added that there were many who were ignoring mild cough or cold, but could still be infected. He pointed out that there were also chances that the disease may be becoming endemic. He, however, added that as no sero surveys had been done in the city it was difficult to reach conclusions.
Doctors have been observing that data from sero surveys as well as genome sequencing was crucial, but not available for the city.
VMC’s medical officer (health) Dr Devesh Patel said that multiple reasons could be responsible for the way the disease was behaving. “The environment or the agent causing the disease can both affect transmission. Studies also indicate at pollen may have a role in transmitting Covid-19. This is not the pollination season and if the study is an indication transmission may remain low,” he said.
The case of this mother is not an isolated one, and in most Covid-19 cases reported over a period of time, it seems that its one off. No close contacts or persons at places where the person has spent time in the recent past are found positive.
Obtaining extensive details of individual cases has become possible again as the number of new cases reported every day is now in single digits. It is also possible to conduct tests or keep track of the health of those staying with the infected person. Hardly any case of even those staying with the infected persons are coming to light.
“It is becoming difficult to identify from where the person is getting the infection. This was expected when there were a large number of cases in the city as the caseload was very high. At that stage, people could have been infected anywhere. But that is not the case anymore and still we do not know where the person got infected,” said a VMC health department official.
Dr V S Mazumdar, former professor and head of the department of community medicine at the Baroda Medical College, said that such infections were possible due to asymptomatic cases in the community who may be infecting others. “Another possibility is that of some variant infecting the person who tested positive,” he said.
Dr Mazumdar added that there were many who were ignoring mild cough or cold, but could still be infected. He pointed out that there were also chances that the disease may be becoming endemic. He, however, added that as no sero surveys had been done in the city it was difficult to reach conclusions.
Doctors have been observing that data from sero surveys as well as genome sequencing was crucial, but not available for the city.
VMC’s medical officer (health) Dr Devesh Patel said that multiple reasons could be responsible for the way the disease was behaving. “The environment or the agent causing the disease can both affect transmission. Studies also indicate at pollen may have a role in transmitting Covid-19. This is not the pollination season and if the study is an indication transmission may remain low,” he said.
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