Published Paper Details:

Background: Seroprevalence of Covid 19 data will be necessary for public health authorities to estimate exposure rates in the general population. Maharashtra is the state with highest number of Covid 19 infections. In terms of Covid deaths, it would rank tenth in the world. Aurangabad is one of the worst hit districts in Maharashtra state, with Covid cases in excess of 35,000.With this rationale a district wide serosurvey was conducted in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. Objective: To estimate the sero- prevalence of COVID-19 in Aurangabad district and also study the determinants of seropositivity of COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A community based cross sectional study was carried out in the households of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) area, peri urban, council and rural areas of Aurangabad district from 10th August 2020 to 19th August 2020 by 20 field teams. Data was collected using Google forms and 3-5 ml of venous blood was collected and transported to Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory at Government Medical College, Aurangabad as per ICMR guidelines. Antibody testing was done using COVID-19 IgG ELISA technique on the same day. Results: Estimated sero-prevalence of Covid 19 in Aurangabad district was found to be 5.8%. Sero-positivity was more in corporation area, slum dwellers and Muslim population. More than 93% of the sero positive people had no history of contact with confirmed Covid case. This indicates community transmission. Since the study is representative of the entire district, it can be said that there is little if any, role of lockdown as public health measure.