Minority ethnic groups in general and South Asians, in particular, had a higher risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and of COVID-19 related hospitalisations, ICU admissions, deaths during the second wave in UK, according to a new study.
updated: May 01 2021, 18:43 ist
Minority ethnic groups in general and South Asians, in particular, had a higher risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and of Covid-19 related hospitalisations, intensive care (ICU) admissions and deaths during the second wave of the pandemic in the UK compared to the first, according to a new observational study of 17 million people.
Led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the study published in the medical journal ‘Lancet’ on Friday accounted for a large number of explanatory variables such as household size, social factors and health conditions across all ethnic groups and at different stages of Covid-19, from testing to mortality.
South Africa’s first National TB Prevalence Survey (findings of which were published earlier this year) found that in 2018 the country’s TB burden was substantially higher than previously thought.
More importantly, in almost half the detected cases there were minimal or no symptoms of TB, says Professor Keertan Dheda, a general physician, pulmonologist, and a critical care specialist who heads up the Division of Pulmonology at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town.
“These points collectively suggest that the current case-finding strategy for TB, i.e. a passive case-finding strategy, is flawed. This is because it relies on patients self-reporting to TB clinics and hospitals for testing because of symptoms,” he says.
South Africa’s First National TB Prevalence Survey (findings of which were published earlier this year) found that in 2018, the country’s tuberculosis burden was substantially higher than previously thought.
More importantly, in almost half the detected cases there were minimal or no symptoms of TB, says Professor Keertan Dheda, a general physician, pulmonologist and critical care specialist who heads up the pulmonology division at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town.
“These points collectively suggest that the current case-finding strategy for TB, i.e. a passive case-finding strategy, is flawed. This is because it relies on patients self-reporting to TB clinics and hospitals for testing because of symptoms,” he says.