Nearly 2 crore people in Karnataka were COVID-19 infected, says govt survey
Bengaluru: At least 1.93 crores or 27.3 percent of the people in Karnataka are either infected by coronavirus or had the infection in the past, as of 16 September, revealed a survey by the government to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 in the state.
Sharing details of the findings, Karnataka Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar said the survey was carried out from September 3 to 16 across 30 districts in the state.
According to Sudhakar, the state government wanted to ascertain the pace at which the COVID-19 cases were increasing.
"The government has to have clear information on how it is spreading in the community in the districts, how to prevent its spread and action to be taken. Hence, this survey was conducted," said the minister.
The sample size is 16,585 in the entire state.
Of this, the test reports of 15,624 have been submitted, he added.
Besides the Rapid Antigen Test and the RT PCR, IgG test was also carried out.
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is the most common antibody in blood and other body fluids, which protects against the bacterial and viral infections.
It is developed after an infection or immunisation.
The survey also found that the infection fatality rate due to COVID-19 was 0.05 percent.
"Out of 7.07 crore estimated population in Karnataka, the study estimates that 1.93 crores (27.3 percent) of the people are either currently infected or already had the infection in the past, as of 16 September 2020," the report said.
It further stated that the present IFR is likely an underestimate.
The overall IFR based on the first round of sentinel serosurvey findings is 0.07 percent.
Based on the report, it is estimated that the overall weighted adjusted seroprevalence of IgG was 16.4 percent.
"It suggests that in the surveyed population, 16.4 percent of the people were infected in the past and found to have IgG antibodies against SARS CoV-2," the finding revealed.
The report mentioned that the districts with a high Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) need clinical care to be improved.
Noting that the state was passing through different stages of COVID-19 pandemic in different districts, the report said the surge in cases is yet to occur in the districts with the lowest estimated prevalence of COVID-19 such as Dharwad, Gadag, Chikkaballapur, Bagalkot, and Mahadevapura in Bengaluru urban district.
The study recommended establishing the district-level facility-based sentinel sero-surveillance to monitor the trend of infection in the long term systematically.
This can inform local decision-making at the district level to mount the necessary public health response towards the COVID-19 epidemic in Karnataka.
The government said that a follow-up survey has been planned to measure the extent and speed of transmission and evaluate the impact of containment strategies overtime in the state.
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Anbumani asks PM Modi to ban sale of cigarettes for those born after 2009
Chennai (PTI): PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take legislative measures to prohibit smoking and the sale of cigarettes to individuals born on or after January 1, 2009, thereby creating a smoke-free generation.
Anbumani, former Union minister for health and family welfare, said, "Once implemented, it (ban on cigarettes) will ensure that future generations are legally prevented from ever accessing tobacco products", he said in a letter to Modi.
"I write to you with a deep sense of urgency and responsibility, drawing your kind attention to a critical public health issue that continues to endanger the lives of millions of Indians, particularly among the younger generation who are affected by cigarette smoking", he claimed.
Stating that India unfortunately bears a disproportionately high burden of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality, he said, adding that, according to global health estimates, nearly 267 million Indians, approximately one in five citizens, use tobacco.
"Each year, tobacco consumption directly accounts for over 1.35 million deaths, while exposure to second-hand smoke contributes to a total of approximately 2.3 million deaths annually", he said, adding, "these figures are alarming and reflect a public health crisis of immense magnitude".
He pointed out that Scientific evidence unequivocally establishes tobacco use as a leading cause of cancer and numerous non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular ailments, chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD, and multiple forms of malignancies. "In India alone, tobacco is responsible for nearly 40–50 per cent of all cancer cases, with over 4.7 lakh deaths annually attributed to tobacco-induced cancers", he added.
"In this context, I strongly urge the Union government to consider enacting a transformative law similar to that of the United Kingdom, that permanently prohibits the sale and consumption of tobacco products for individuals born on or after a specified year (such as 2009). Such a generational ban would mark a decisive step towards eliminating tobacco use in India over time", he said.
