Publications by authors named "Anavarathan Somasundaram"

The decline in dengue incidence and/or prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-22) appears to be attributed to reduced treatment-seeking rates, under-reporting, misdiagnosis, disrupted health services and reduced exposure to mosquito vectors due to prevailing lockdowns. There is limited scientific data on dengue virus (DENV) disease during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we conducted a community-based, cross-sectional, cluster-randomized survey to assess anti-DENV and anti-SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence, and also estimated the spatial distribution of DENV-positive aedine mosquito vectors during the COVID-19 pandemic across all the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, India.

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Background: Dengue is a vector-borne viral disease impacting millions across the globe. Nevertheless, akin to many other diseases, reports indicated a decline in dengue incidence and seroprevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-22). This presumably could be attributed to reduced treatment-seeking rates, under-reporting, misdiagnosis, disrupted health services and reduced exposure to vectors due to lockdowns.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzes serological surveys in Tamil Nadu, India, to track how SARS-CoV-2 antibodies decline in the population over time and assess contributions from infections and vaccinations to antibody levels.
  • Four rounds of surveys involving over 20,000 participants each were conducted between October 2020 and January 2022, highlighting a significant drop in seroprevalence from 31.5% to 22.9% after the first COVID wave.
  • By the end of the study, seroprevalence surged to 93.1%, with vaccinations contributing 63% of this increase, while rural areas showed improving antibody levels over time despite initially lower rates compared to urban areas.
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