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E-Mail An analysis of the first wave of the epidemic in Iran in 8902 people suggests the overall proportion of people with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in their blood - known as seroprevalence - may be higher than rates based on clinical cases alone, at around 17.1% seropositivity vs 0.6% based on modelling from previous studies, by end of April 2020. However, seroprevalence varies widely between cities - with the highest estimates found in Rasht (72.6%) and the lowest in Sanandaj (1.7%) although some cities had small samples sizes. Despite high seroprevalence in a few cities, a large proportion of population is still uninfected. The potential shortcomings of current public health policies should therefore be identified to prevent future epidemic waves in Iran.
A study tracking seroprevalence across Iran suggests that the number of people who have had the SARS-CoV-2 virus is 17.1% overall and 20.0% in high-risk occupations. The findings suggest that an estimated almost 4.3 million people across the 18 cities sampled were infected with the virus by the end of April 2020, compared with 800,000 clinically confirmed cases by November 2020 for the whole country (population 81.8 million). This discrepancy may reflect the fact that clinical cases pick up only the severe end of the disease spectrum, especially in the first wave when widespread testing was less common.
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This is the first major seroprevalence study from the Middle East and is published in
Seroprevalence study finds number of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Iran may be higher than expected medicalxpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medicalxpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.