See all articles by Manoj V. MurhekarIndian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Epidemiology
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Epidemiology
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Epidemiology
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Epidemiology
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Epidemiology
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
World Health Organization (WHO) - India Country Office
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Epidemiology
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Epidemiology
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH)
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National AIDS Research Institute
Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (Guinea) - Centre National de Formation et de Recherche en Santé Rurale (CNFRSR)
State TB Training and Demonstration Centre (STDC)
ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre - National Reference Laboratory
ICMR National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - Regional Medical Research Centre
ICMR - National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases
ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre
Government Medical College, Srinagar - Department of Community Medicine
State TB Training and Demonstration centre (STDC)
ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition
ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences
ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre
National Tuberculosis Institute
Government of India - ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre; Government of India - Department of Microbiology
ICMR-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition
ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research; ICMR-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health
Government of India - ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre; Government of India - Department of Microbiology
National Institute of Research in Tribal Health
State TB Training and Demonstration Centre (STDC)
ICMR National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Government of India - ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH)
National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP)
ICMR, National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Government Medical College, Srinagar - Department of Community Medicine
ICMR, National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Nutrition
State TB Training and Demonstration Centre (STDC)
Government of India - ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre; Government of India - Department of Microbiology
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Government of India - ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre
National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis
Regional Medical Research Centre, Gorakhpur
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
State TB Office; Directorate of Public Health and Family Welfare - Office of Joint Director for Tuberculosis
ICMR-National Jalma Institute of Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases
ICMR-National Jalma Institute of Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases
State TB Training and Demonstration centre (STDC)
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Nutrition
Lady Willingdon State TB centre
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
State TB Office; Directorate of Public Health and Family Welfare - Office of Joint Director for Tuberculosis
Government Medical College, Srinagar - Department of Community Medicine
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute
State TB Training and Demonstration Centre (STDC)
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
State TB Training and Demonstration Centre (STDC)
ICMR-National JALMA Institute for Leprosy & Other Mycobacterial Diseases
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research
Lady Willingdon State TB Centre
ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
State TB Office; Directorate of Public Health and Family Welfare - Office of Joint Director for Tuberculosis
ICMR – National Institute of Occupational Health
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH); Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases
Government of India - ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH)
ICMR-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health
ICMR, National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases
ICMR National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases
RMRC Gorakhpur
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Government of India - ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre
Lady Willingdon State TB Centre; National Tuberculosis Institute
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences
Government of India - ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre
ICMR-National Jalma Institute of Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Nutrition
State TB Office
State TB Training and Demonstration Centre (STDC)
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Independent Cconsultant
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Abstract
Background: Repeated cross-sectional serosurveys in the same geographic area establish the trend of the evolving pandemic. We present the findings of the third round of a national serosurvey to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the general population and health care workers of India.
Methods: We conducted the third population-based serosurvey between Dec 18, 2020 and Jan 6, 2021 in the same 700 villages or wards from 70 districts in 21 states across India, which were selected for the first and second serosurveys. We enrolled from each district, at least 400 individuals aged ≥ 10 years from general population and 100 HCWs from sub-district level public health facilities. Serum samples from general population were tested for the presence of IgG antibodies against nucleocapsid (N) and spike protein (S1-RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 using the Abbott and Siemens assays respectively, whereas sera from HCWs were tested for anti-S1-RBD. For general population, sera positive for either of the antibodies were considered positive, while sera positive for anti-S1-RBD were considered as positive for HCW. Weighted seroprevalence estimates were adjusted for sensitivity and specificity of respective assays.
Findings: Of the 28,598 sera from general population, 4585 (16%) had IgG antibodies against N, 6647 (23.2%) against S1-RBD and 7436 (26%) against either. The weighted and assay characteristic adjusted seroprevalence against either of the antibodies was 24.1 (95%CI: 23.0% to 25.3%). Seroprevalence was lower in rural areas (21.4%, 95% CI: 20.3% to 22.6%) compared to urban non-slum (29.4%, 95% CI: 26.9% - 32.1%) and slum areas (34.6%, 95% CI: 31.0% to 38.3%). Among 7385 HCWs, the seroprevalence of anti-S1-RBD IgG antibodies was 25.6% (95% CI: 23.5% to 27.8%).
Interpretation: Nearly one in four individuals aged 10 years or older from general population as well as HCWs were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 by December 2020 amounting to 271 million infections in India.
Funding Statement: Indian Council of Medical Research
Declaration of Interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf and declare no competing interests
Ethics Approval Statement: The project was approved by Institutional Human Ethics Committee at ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology.
Murhekar, Manoj V. and Bhatnagar, Tarun and Thangaraj, Jeromie Wesley Vivian and Saravanakumar, V. and Kumar, Muthusamy Santhosh and Selvaraju, Sriram and Rade, Kiran and Kumar, C.P. Girish and Sabarinathan, R. and Turuk, Alka and Asthana, Smita and Balachandar, Rakesh and Bangar, Sampada Dipak and Bansal, Avi Kumar and Chopra, Vishal and Das, Dasarathi and Deb, Alok Kumar and Devi, Kangjam Rekha and Dhikav, Vikas and Dwivedi, Gaurav Raj and Khan, S. Muhammad Salim and Kumar, M. Sunil and Laxmaiah, Avula and Madhukar, Major and Mahapatra, Amarendra and Rangaraju, Chethana and Turuk, Jyotirmayee and Turuk, Jyotirmayee and Yadav, Rajiv and Andhalkar, Rushikesh and Arunraj, K. and Baradwaj, Dinesh Kumar and Bharti, Pravin and Bhattacharya, Debdutta and Bhattacharya, Debdutta and Bhat, Jyothi and Chahal, Ashrafjit S. and Chakraborty, Debjit and Chaudhury, Anshuman and Deval, Hirawati and Dhatrak, Sarang and Prasad, Ranjit and Elantamilan, D. and Giridharan, Prathiksha and Haq, Inaamul and Hudda, Ramesh Kumar and Jagjeevan, Babu and Kalliath, Arshad and Kanungo, Srikanta and Kanungo, Srikanta and Krishnan, Nivethitha N. and Kshatri, Jaya Singh and Kumar, Alok and Kumar, Niraj and Kumar, V.G. Vinod and Naga Lakshmi, Gangeti Gandhi Jayanthi and Naga Lakshmi, Gangeti Gandhi Jayanthi and Mehta, Ganesh and Mishra, Nandan Kumar and Mitra, Anindya and Nagbhushanam, K. and Arlappa, Nimmathota and Nirmala, A.R. and Pandey, Ashok Kumar and Prasad, Ganta Venkata and Prasad, Ganta Venkata and Qurieshi, Mariya Amin and Reddy, Sirasanambatti Devarajulu and Robinson, Aby and Sahay, Seema and Saxena, Rochak and Sekar, Krithikaa and Shukla, Vijay Kumar and Singh, Hari Bhan and Singh, Prashant Kumar and Singh, Pushpendra and Singh, Rajeev and Srinivasan, Nivetha and Varma, Dantuluri Sheethal and Varma, Dantuluri Sheethal and Viramgami, Ankit and Wilson, Vimith Cheruvathoor and Yadav, Surabhi and Yadav, Suresh and Yadav, Suresh and Zaman, Kamran and Chakrabarti, Amit and Das, Aparup and Dhaliwal, R.S. and Dutta, Shanta and Kant, Rajni and Khan, A.M. and Narain, Kanwar and Narasimhaiah, Somashekar and Narasimhaiah, Somashekar and Padmapriyadarshini, Chandrasekaran and Padmapriyadarshini, Chandrasekaran and Pandey, Krishna and Pati, Sanghamitra and Patil, Shripad and Rajkumar, Hemalatha and Ramarao, Tekumalla and Sharma, Y.K. and Singh, Shalini and Panda, Samiran and Reddy, D.C.S. and Bhargava, Balram, SARS-CoV-2 Sero-Prevalence Among General Population and Healthcare Workers in India, December 2020 - January 2021. Available at SSRN:
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3797589 or
http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3797589