India has one of the world’s lowest testing rates for coronavirus, and that is worrying many experts.
Why is a densely populated country with more than a billion people testing so little? The official assumption is the disease hasnot spread in the community. As early"evidence" health authorities say 826 samples collected from patients suffering from acute respiratory disease from 50 government hospitals across India between 1 and 15 March tested negative for coronavirus. Also, hospitals have not yet reported a spike in admissions of respiratory distress cases.
Yet, coronavirus is one of the deadliest transmissible viruses in recent history. Every day lost in effective response means the looming danger of a surge in infections. India spends a paltry 3.7% of its GDP on health care, and that may begin to bite if there's a full-blown outbreak. Partial lockdowns in many cities - shutting schools, colleges, businesses and suspending some rail transport - proves that the government fears that community transmission of the virus might have begun.
"On testing, the government response has been proportionate, taking into account scope, need and capacity," Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative to India told me. "We recognise that laboratory networks are expanding the scope and testing and they now include patients with severe acute respiratory infection and influenza-like illness detected through the surveillance system. It would also be important to look at 'atypical pneumonia' cases.
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