Find in Library

Background: Serological diagnosis has become an important tool to understand the extent of COVID-19 in the community. Thus, this study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and to analyze various characteristics (risk factors) associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among serving personnel in a large geographical area straddling four North Indian states. Materials and Methods: This multicentric, cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among serving personnel in eight stations spread over Punjab, UP, Haryana, and Rajasthan in October-November 2020. A total of 3680 (410 × 8 = 3280 general participants and 50 × 8 = 400 purposive samples) individuals were enrolled and tested using IgG ELISA kit (in four stations) and RAPID CARD-based tests (in the rest four stations). Results: While the overall seroprevalence was found to be 16.57% (610/3680 participants being positive), the seropositivity was found to be 12.01% (10.92%–13.70%) and 54% (52.35%–56.45%) among the study participant's and purposive sampling groups, respectively. While statistically significant association was found between seronegativity and attending any lecture on COVID-19 before the survey (P < 0.001) or following recommended protocols for the prevention of COVID-19 (P < 0.001), a similar association was found between seropositivity and occupation with high exposure to serving personnel or civilians (P < 0.001), having close contact (less than one meter) with COVID-19 confirmed cases in the past (P < 0.001) and being tested positive for COVID-19 in the past (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our study found a moderate overall seroprevalence with low seroprevalence in few stations and high in the rest.