Emergence of SARI-coronavirus link alarms health officials

The abrupt emergence of eight new coronavirus positive cases this week, who were diagnosed with the disease after coming down with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) has caused jitters within the state government.

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SARI, a lung infection that can be fatal if untreated, can affect people with low immunity, according to Dr. H Paramesh, a pulmonary scientist at IISc. However, it is also a late-stage symptom of COVID-19 and is the leading cause of death among coronavirus patients.

SARI is manifested by fever, cough, and shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing. It encompasses pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). These two conditions are the primary causes of death among COVID-19 patients.

A study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research found that roughly 1.8% of SARI-sufferers also had COVID-19. The study also determined that the trend of COVID-19 positivity among SARI patients is a reliable indicator of the disease’s spread in an area.

Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases

In Karnataka, the emergence of these eight positive SARI-COVID-19 cases over the last four days, including three people in Bengaluru (Patients 195, 196, 197), suggests that the disease is spreading among people without a history of travel. All eight diagnosed cases (Patients 196, 197, 177, 166, 175, 176, 195, 205) appear to have no international travel history at all. One person had recently travelled to Manipur (Patient 195).

However, health officials said they could not yet determine if these cases indicated community transmission.

Dr. C Nagaraja, the Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD), where two of the cases have been admitted, said that a lack of candor by the individuals about their history made it difficult to say whether community transmission was happening or not.

“So far, they are refusing to answer the district surveillance team about their whereabouts in the days prior. There is also a lack of information about their first and second contacts,” Dr. Nagaraja said.

According to data released by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the eight individuals ranged in age from 26 to 80. Six of the patients are male and two were female, (including 80-year-old Patient 166 who died in Gadag early on Thursday morning).

Eye-Opener

Principal Health Secretary Jawaid Akhtar had told DH that the state first woke up to SARI’s potential link to COVID-19 when health officials discovered a positive coronavirus patient who had been admitted to a hospital for SARI, in March.

Eight laboratories in Karnataka have already tested 320 people for SARI up to April 2. RGICD, which set up its SARI-COVID-19 testing unit on March 27, has tested 73 people so far.

“Every tested case was negative, until recently when Patient 197 showed up on the 6th; Patient 196 was a referral,” Dr. Nagaraja said, adding that the cases were an “eye-opener" for everybody.

In the IJMR-published study, 39.2% of the studied patients did not report any contact history or had any history of international travel. Two reported contact with a confirmed case and one reported a recent history of international travel.