Sharad Sharma/RSS
KATHMANDU, Dec 12: A study has shown that 13.9 per cent of coronavirus infection was in community level.
The study conducted by the Epidemiology and Communicable Disease Control Division under the Ministry of Health and Population with the assistance of World Health Organization found it with the test of antibody.
Information to this was shared by Division Director General Dr Basudev Pandey. Seroprevalence survey was conducted after antibody test to ascertain whether the COVID-19 was spread in community level.
Province-2 and Bagmati Province were found more vulnerable, Dr Pandey added. The mountainous region was comparatively safe as per the study.
The people belonging to age group of 15 to 45 years were found more infected.
Even the children were found infected. Dr Pandey further said the Ministry would provide more information to this regard. The Division had collected blood samples from 30 wards of each Province and tested antibody to know whether the virus was spread in community level.
The blood sample was taken from 15 persons in each ward. A total of 3,170 blood samples were collected for the test. The sample tests were conducted in all districts except Rukum Purba and Rasuwa.
All sorts of people- of different age, those with and without travel history and those infected and non-infected – were included for the sample collection.
The sample collected by the Division was tested at the National Public Health Laboratory, Teku.
Ministry’s Co-Spokesperson Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari said although the infection was spread in the community level, the Ministry had not shared it formally. After the seroprevalence report arrives in the Ministry, it would be shared how it has spread at community level.
Dr Pandey also said another test would be conducted to further ascertain the situation. As the present study has not covered all, the antibody would be tested again.
“Currently, the infection is decreased. It should be studied why the infection rate decreased and at a time there are plans to bring COVID-19 vaccine, it should be determined to whom (what sorts of people) the vaccines could be administered,” he said, adding the anti-body would be tested in wider scale for it.
So far, 246 thousand 694 persons have been infected with coronavirus. Among them, 232 thousand 872 have recovered and 1,674 have died.
