COVID-19 cases in India underreported by over 20 million, study says Feb 5, 2021 Tests of antibodies, current infections reveal significant spread in India’s southern state A new study, led by professors at the University of Chicago and Duke University, found that COVID-19 cases in the southern state of Karnataka, India, are nearly 95 times greater than reported. The study—led by Prof. Anup Malani from the University of Chicago’s Law School and Pritzker School of Medicine, and Prof. Manoj Mohanan from Duke University—suggests that 44.1% of the population in rural areas and 53.8% in urban areas in the southern state of Karnataka tested positive for antibodies to COVID-19 by the end of August 2020.