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. 2022 Mar:2:1-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2021.10.009. Epub 2021 Nov 19.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in the city of Hyderabad, India in early 2021

Avula Laxmaiah  1 , Nalam Madhusudhan Rao  2 , N Arlappa  1 , Jagjeevan Babu  1 , P Uday Kumar  1 , Priya Singh  2 , Deepak Sharma  2 , V Mahesh Anumalla  2 , T Santhosh Kumar  2 , R Sabarinathan  3 , M Santhos Kumar  3 , R Ananthan  1 , D Anwar Basha  1 , P P S Blessy  1 , D Chandra Kumar  1 , P Devaraj  1 , S Devendra  1 , M Mahesh Kumar  1 , Indrapal I Meshram  1 , B Naveen Kumar  1 , Paras Sharma  1 , P Raghavendra  1 , P Raghu  1 , K Rajender Rao  1 , P Ravindranadh  1 , B Santosh Kumar  1 , G Sarika  1 , J Srinivasa Rao  1 , M V Surekha  1 , F Sylvia  1 , Deepak Kumar  1 , G Subba Rao  1 , Karthik Bharadwaj Tallapaka  2 , Divya Tej Sowpati  2 , Surabhi Srivastava  2 , V Manoj Murhekar  3 , Rajkumar Hemalatha  1 , Rakesh K Mishra  2
Affiliations

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in the city of Hyderabad, India in early 2021

Avula Laxmaiah et al. IJID Reg. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 emerged as a global pandemic in 2020, spreading rapidly to most parts of the world. The proportion of infected individuals in a population can be reliably estimated via serosurveillance, making it a valuable tool for planning control measures. Our serosurvey study aimed to investigate SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in the urban population of Hyderabad at the end of the first wave of infections.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey, conducted in January 2021 and including males and females aged 10 years and above, used multi-stage random sampling. 9363 samples were collected from 30 wards distributed over six zones of Hyderabad, and tested for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen.

Results: Overall seropositivity was 54.2%, ranging from 50% to 60% in most wards. Highest exposure appeared to be among those aged 30-39 and 50-59 years, with women showing greater seropositivity. Seropositivity increased with family size, with only marginal differences among people with varying levels of education. Seroprevalence was significantly lower among smokers. Only 11% of the survey subjects reported any COVID-19 symptoms, while 17% had appeared for COVID-19 testing.

Conclusion: Over half the city's population was infected within a year of onset of the pandemic. However, ∼ 46% of people remained susceptible, contributing to subsequent waves of infection.

Keywords: ACE2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; CCMB, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology; CI, confidence interval; COI, cutoff index; COVID-19; COVID-19, coronavirus disease; CSIR, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research; GHMC, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation; Hyderabad; ICMR, Indian Council of Medical Research; India; NIN, National Institute of Nutrition; ODK, Open Data Kit; RT-PCR, reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction; SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome; SARS-CoV-2 antibody; SD, standard deviation; SPSS, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences; seroprevalence; serosurveillance.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated seroprevalences across different GHMC wards in Hyderabad. Seropositivity (%; y-axis) plotted across (A) 30 wards and (B) six zones in Hyderabad. An average positivity of 54.2% was found (dotted line; 95% CI: 53.2–55.2). Most of the wards surveyed had a uniform seropositivity distribution, ranging from 50% to 60%. Values above the bars indicate the numbers of individuals surveyed in the group.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of survey subjects by COVID testing status. (A) Pie-chart representing the percentages of participants who appeared for a COVID test (RAT and/or RT-PCR). (B) Percentages of individuals (y-axis) who were found to be seropositive (red) or not (grey), categorized according to COVID test result (x-axis).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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