In Wuhan, about half a million people may have had Covid-19, according to the study. It is almost ten times the official figure

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The study used a sample of 34,000 people from the general population of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic, and other cities in Hubei Province, as well as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong Provinces, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Liaoning. estimates Covid-19 infection rates.

The researchers found an antibody prevalence rate of 4.43% for Covid-19 among residents in Wuhan, a metropolis of 11 million people. As of Sunday, Wuhan had reported a total of 50,354 confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission.

The study aimed to estimate the scale of past infections in a population by testing blood serum samples from a group of people to detect antibodies against coronavirus. Their findings are not considered final statistics of how many people in a given area have been exposed to the virus.

The Chinese CDC said the study was conducted a month after China “contained the first wave of the Covid-19 epidemic.” The prevalence rate outside Wuhan is significantly lower, according to the study. In other cities in Hubei, only 0.44% of the respondents were found to have antibodies against coronavirus.

Outside the province, antibodies were only detected in two people among the more than 12,000 residents surveyed.

The results of the study were revealed Monday in a Chinese CDC post on social media. He did not mention whether the study has been published in academic journals.

Unreported coronavirus infections

Yanzhong Huang, a senior global health member of the Foreign Relations Council, said the study points to an underinformation problem of infections during the height of the outbreak in Wuhan, in part due to the chaos of the time lack of asymptomatic inclusion of cases in the official count of confirmed cases.

In January and February, patients with fever flooded Wuhan hospitals, which lacked manpower, testing equipment and medical resources to diagnose and treat them. Instead, many were told to return home and isolate themselves; some ended up infecting other family members, while others died at home without being recorded at the Covid-19 death tolls.

Underinformation is a problem facing health authorities in many countries, often due to lack of capacity and resources. Antibody studies by researchers in other parts of the world also show that coronavirus was much more prevalent than official figures suggest.

A study sponsored by the New York State Department of Health, for example, showed that by the end of March, one in seven adults in New York had Covid-19, about 10 times the official count. In August, another study found coronavirus antibodies in more than 27% of the 1.5 million New York City residents tested.
Wuhan files: leaked documents reveal China's mishandling in the early stages of Covid-19

But in China there is also the issue of transparency, as officials gave the public more optimistic data than they had access to internally.

As of Feb. 12, Hubei health authorities began including “clinically diagnosed cases” in the count of confirmed infections. That day, some 13,000 “clinically diagnosed cases” not previously reported in the new confirmed infections were added to the province, causing a ninefold increase in daily cases over the previous day.
Filtered documents from Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention previously submitted to CNN by a complainant showed earlier that day, authorities had reported internally “clinically diagnosed cases,” but did not disclose them to the public. Hubei authorities also publicly reported a lower count of confirmed cases and deaths on February 10 and March 7 than they recorded internally, according to the documentation.
Authorities have also cracked down on citizen journalists who reported on the stark reality of Wuhan’s overflowing hospitals. On Monday, Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer who documented the outbreak at its peak in Wuhan, was sentenced to four years in prison for “arguing and causing trouble.” Two other independent journalists, Li Zehua and Fang Bin, were also arrested after their coverage of the outbreak.

Effective containment in Wuhan

The study reveals a huge contrast between the prevalence rates of coronavirus antibodies inside and outside Wuhan.

Huang said significantly lower rates in other Chinese cities suggest that “Chinese containment efforts were quick and effective, especially compared to cities like New York.”

In an unprecedented bid to contain the rapidly spreading virus, Wuhan was sealed from the outside world on January 23, with the cancellation of all flights, trains and buses and the entrances of the blocked highways.

Within the city, the government imposed a draconian closure. For more than two months, public transportation in Wuhan was suspended, businesses were closed, and millions of residents were confined to their homes and residential communities, not even allowed to go shopping at the supermarket.
Blockades are being imposed all over the world. The example of China highlights the costs
However, the 76-day closure meant a huge cost for residents, especially for those who needed to go to the hospital, as all public transport was suspended and there were not enough taxis available to patients.

Still, the Chinese government has announced that major measures have allowed the country to turn the corner in its fight against the outbreak.

The Chinese CDC, meanwhile, also highlighted China’s victory in containing the virus by publishing the results of the antibody study on Monday.

“The results of the study show that the population of our country has a low infection rate. It indicates that China has managed to control the epidemic with Wuhan as the main battlefield and has effectively controlled the large-scale spread of the epidemic, ”the agency said. .

CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh contributed to this story.

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