Cross-sectional Study on Sero-Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

In India, laboratory diagnosis of SARS - CoV-2 infection has been mostly based on real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Studies have shown that Viral titres peak within the first week of symptoms, but may decline post this time frame, thereby hampering RT-PCR based diagnostic strategies. These reasons have prompted the call for adoption of antibody testing as a potential source of data to address the gap in data and inform public health and governance policies oriented towards COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A Cross-sectional study with a sample size of 9000 was conducted for 11 days (Dec 11-21, 2020) including all the 79 wards under Jabalpur Municipal Corporation. Serum samples were tested for the presence of specific antibodies to COVID19 using ICMR-Kavach IgG ELISA kits. The data collected was compiled on Microsoft Excel and data analysis was carried out using STATA 15E statistical software. Result: Overall seroprevalence of the study population was found to be 28.70% (weighted). Wards of the city of Jabalpur were classified into three categories based on the case prevalence - High (27 wards), Medium (26 wards) and Low (26 wards). Based on the overall seroprevalence, the estimated number of total infections were calculated to be 3, 54,870 for the study population. Overall Case Infection Ratio was 31.41. Conclusion: The current seroprevalence study rightly provides information on proportion of the population exposed, however, the correlation between presence and absence of antibodies is not a marker of total or partial immunity. Hence, the golden rule of Social distancing, sanitization, personal protective equipment and public health measures have to be continued.