Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep 23;11(9):e053791.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053791.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies in Kashmir, India, 7 months after the first reported local COVID-19 case: results of a population-based seroprevalence survey from October to November 2020

S Muhammad Salim Khan  1 , Mariya Amin Qurieshi  1 , Inaamul Haq  2 , Sabhiya Majid  3 , Javid Ahmad #  4 , Taha Ayub #  1 , Ashfaq Ahmad Bhat #  5 , Anjum Bashir Fazili #  4 , Abdul Majeed Ganai #  6 , Yasmeen Jan #  5 , Rauf-Ur-Rashid Kaul #  4 , Zahid Ali Khan #  6 , Muneer Ahmad Masoodi #  7 , Beenish Mushtaq #  5 , Fouzia Nazir #  7 , Muzamil Nazir #  6 , Malik Waseem Raja #  1 , Mahbooba Rasool #  7 , Anjum Asma #  1 , Shifana Ayoub #  1 , Munazza Aziz #  8 , Arif Akbar Bhat #  3 , Iqra Nisar Chowdri #  1 , Shaista Ismail #  1 , Misbah Ferooz Kawoosa #  1 , Mehvish Afzal Khan #  1 , Mosin Saleem Khan #  3 , Rafiya Kousar #  1 , Ab Aziz Lone #  1 , Shahroz Nabi #  1 , Mohammad Obaid #  3 , Tanzeela Bashir Qazi #  1 , Iram Sabah #  1 , Ishtiyaq Ahmad Sumji #  1
Affiliations

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies in Kashmir, India, 7 months after the first reported local COVID-19 case: results of a population-based seroprevalence survey from October to November 2020

S Muhammad Salim Khan et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: We designed a population-based survey in Kashmir to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies in the general population aged 18 years and above.

Setting: The survey was conducted among 110 villages and urban wards across 10 districts in Kashmir from 17 October 2020 to 4 November 2020.

Participants: Individuals aged 18 years and above were eligible to be included in the survey. Serum samples were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies using the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay.

Primary and secondary outcome measures: We labelled assay results equal to or above the cut-off index value of 1.4 as positive for SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies. Seroprevalence estimates were adjusted for the sampling design and assay characteristics.

Results: Out of 6397 eligible individuals enumerated, 6315 (98.7%) agreed to participate. The final analysis was done on 6230 participants. Seroprevalence adjusted for the sampling design and assay characteristics was 36.7% (95% CI 34.3% to 39.2%). Seroprevalence was higher among the older population. Among seropositive individuals, 10.2% (247/2415) reported a history of COVID-19-like symptoms. Out of 474 symptomatic individuals, 233 (49.2%) reported having been tested. We estimated an infection fatality rate of 0.034%.

Conclusions: During the first 7 months of the COVID-19 epidemic in Kashmir Valley, approximately 37% of individuals were infected. The reported number of COVID-19 cases was only a small fraction of the estimated number of infections. A more efficient surveillance system with strengthened reporting of COVID-19 cases and deaths is warranted.

Keywords: COVID-19; epidemiology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location of the 10 districts and seroprevalence (%) by district. Numbers in parentheses indicate a 95% CI for seroprevalence.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Participant flow.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Seropositivity by the history of COVID-19-like symptoms, RT-PCR testing and test result. (B) History of COVID-19-like symptoms by seropositivity, RT-PCR testing and test result.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Daily cases and deaths in Kashmir since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (B) Cumulative number of cases and deaths in Kashmir.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Timeline of WHO’s response to COVID-19. Available: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/interact... [Accessed 26 Mar 2021].
    1. Saleem S, Quansar R, Qurieshi M. COVID-19: preparedness and response by Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for containment of pandemic. Curr Med Issues 2020;18:206. 10.4103/cmi.cmi_56_20 - DOI
    1. Peirlinck M, Linka K, Sahli Costabal F, et al. . Visualizing the invisible: the effect of asymptomatic transmission on the outbreak dynamics of COVID-19. Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng 2020;372:113410. 10.1016/j.cma.2020.113410 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Borges LP, Martins AF, Melo MSde, et al. . Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies in an asymptomatic population in Sergipe, Brazil. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública 2020;44:e108:1. 10.26633/RPSP.2020.108 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Malani A, Shah D, Kang G, et al. . Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in slums versus non-slums in Mumbai, India. Lancet Glob Health 2021;9:e110–1. 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30467-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types