Assessing the Burden of COVID-19 among Children Aged 6-14 Years in Karnataka, India: A Cross-sectional Survey.
Indian J Community Med 2024;
49:110-114. [PMID:
38425984 PMCID:
PMC10900468 DOI:
10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_60_23]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Background
India experienced three coronavirus disease (COVID-19) waves, with the third attributed to the highly contagious Omicron variant. Before the national vaccination rollout for children above 6, understanding severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunoglobulin G (IgG) positivity in the pediatric population was essential. This study aims to assess the burden of Covid-19 infection and to estimate the seroprevalence in children aged 6 to 14 years in the state of Karnataka.
Material and Methods
We surveyed 5,358 children aged 6-14 across Karnataka using 232 health facilities, from June 6 to 14, 2022. We determined the sample size using the PPS (Population Proportional to Size) technique and employed cluster sampling. We tested all participants for SARS-CoV-2 IgG with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit and SARS-CoV-2 RNA with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We sequenced samples with a cycle threshold (CT) value below 25 using whole genomic sequencing (WGS).
Result
We found an adjusted seroprevalence of IgG at 75.38% statewide, and we found 0.04% of children RT-PCR positive for COVID-19. We determined a case-to-infection ratio of 1:37 and identified the SARS-CoV-2 strains as Omicron, BA.5, and BA.2.10.
Conclusion
The study showed a high seroprevalence of IgG among children with low active infection. Omicron, BA. 5, and BA. 2.10 variants were detected through WGS.
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