Pune: Proportion of symptomatic Covid-19 patients was greater in second wave, study shows

The proportion of symptomatic Covid-19 patients in Pune was far greater during the second wave than in the first, a new analysis from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) has revealed. During the first wave, one in seven Covid-19 patients, or less than 15 per cent, showed symptoms. During the second wave, however, one in four cases, or 25 per cent, were symptomatic.

The numbers are based on the samples from Pune tested at the NIV from January last year till the end of April 2021. During this time, the NIV had tested 3.08 lakh samples, of which 65,312 were found to be infected with the virus.

NIV was just one of the several laboratories carrying out diagnostic Covid-19 tests in Pune. The total number of confirmed cases in Pune till April 30 this year was close to 8.5 lakh, making it the city with the highest caseload in the country, after New Delhi.

Of the 65,312 people found positive in testing carried out at NIV, 13,066 had symptoms, while the other 52,246 were asymptomatic. But, interestingly, over 14 per cent of asymptomatic patients also needed hospitalisation at a later stage, the analysis pointed out.

“Of the 13,066 positive symptomatic cases, 5,300 (40.5 per cent) were hospitalised as compared to 7,425 of the 52,246 (14.25 per cent) asymptomatic patients,” it said.

Not all people with symptoms were found to be positive. Of the 3.08 lakh people tested, over 44,000 reported symptoms like fever, cough, headache, breathlessness, sore throat, body ache or nasal discharge. However, only 13,066 were found to be infected with the virus. Among the over 2.63 lakh people who did not show any symptoms, but were still tested, 52,246 were detected to be positive.

The positivity rate amongst people with symptoms was much higher during the second wave than the first, the analysis showed. During the first wave, 27.1 per cent of people who had symptoms and were tested, turned out to be positive. This number rose to 59.1 per cent during the second wave.

The median age of the 3.08 lakh people who were tested at NIV was 33 years, but the median age of the 65,312 who were found positive was 35 years, the analysis showed.

“The positivity rate increased as the age increased. There were 28.3 per cent elderly infected with Covid19 as compared to 15.1 per cent of those under five years,” the analysis said.

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