China’s public health authorities say the tally of COVID-19 cases in Wuhan early this year may have been almost 10 times than recorded, reports Bloomberg. About 4.4% of 34,000 tested had specific antibodies for fighting off the pathogen that causes COVID-19, suggesting that they had been infected some time in the past.
- The Wuhan virus ratio means that as many as 500,000 residents may have been infected, almost 10 times than the confirmed 50,000 cases in April.
- The results for Wuhan means that China’s worst-hit city is still vulnerable to Covid-19 if the virus cases resurge
- China has been criticized internationally for its initial handling of the outbreak, which has spread worldwide in a global pandemic in the year.
- Several revisions of the case and death data added to suspicions China was altering the numbers.
- It is common, nonetheless, for health officials to under-report cases during an acute outbreak since they may be overwhelmed and lack testing capabilities.
- China’s survey showed far less impact of the virus outside Wuhan, although the infection rate is generally in line with those found in other countries.
Health professionals widely use serological surveillance to gauge the true scale of epidemics, from Covid-19 to AIDS and hepatitis.
