NDLI: Analysis of the COVID-19 testing parameters and progression of the pandemic at the district level: findings from the ICMR Hundred Million Test (HMT) database during the first wave in India

Content Provider	Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
Author	Jaya Singh Kshatri Sidhartha Giri Debdutta Bhattacharya Subrata Kumar Palo Ira Praharaj Srikanta Kanungo Jyotirmayee Turuk Jyoti Ghosal Trilochan Bhoi Matrujyoti Pattnaik Harpreet Singh Samiran Panda Sanghamitra Pati
Abstract	Background: India had the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases globally. We evaluated the progression of the pandemic across the lockdowns and phased reopenings at the district level during the first wave (in India). Methods: For the analysis in this study, we used more than 100 million COVID-19 test results along with other parameters available in the Indian Council of Medical Research database from March 2020 to October 2020. The districts were stratified as high, moderate, and low caseload districts and data analysis was done for each phase of lockdown. Findings: Of the 110.5 million tests included in the analysis, 54.79 million tests were performed using molecular methods, 53.58 million by rapid antigen tests, and 2.13 million using the indigenous TruNat platform. The proportion of positive cases among symptomatic individuals (22.6%) was significantly higher than asymptomatic individuals (8.6%). The tests conducted and proportions of positivity were significantly higher in high caseload districts; 58% of these tests were conducted using molecular methods as opposed to only one-third in low caseload districts. Interpretation: Laboratory parameters, along with other demographic information, can help us better understand the spread of the pandemic in a country. This information can be crucial to formulating and implementing public health policies in future waves of the pandemic.
ISSN	12019712
e-ISSN	18783511
DOI	10.1016/j.ijid.2022.06.027
Journal	International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume Number	122
Language	English
Publisher	Elsevier
Publisher Date	2022-01-01
Publisher Place	Netherlands
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Covid-19 Pandemic Rat Rt-pcr Progression Laboratory
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Infectious Diseases Microbiology (medical)

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