Estimating the COVID-19 burden in Karnataka

This work, a Karnataka-wide COVID-19 serological survey, provided a wealth of information about the state of the pandemic. It enabled principled and data-driven public health responses (testing strategies, district-level response recommendations, etc.). It highlights how to leverage the existing public health infrastructure, gather useful local information, and shape targeted responses at the district/taluk level. It suggests a replicable and optimised sampling frame for enhanced information gathering in the middle of a pandemic. The four-state disease modelling framework and a combined active- and past-infection estimation technique highlight the importance of disease-state modelling in analysing complex and incomplete field epidemiological data.

References:

Giridhara R. Babu, et al., The burden of active infection and anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in the general population: Results from a statewide survey in Karnataka, India, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 108, P27-36, July 01, 2021.

https://cni.iisc.ac.in/covid-19-response/