Underreporting COVID-19: the curious case of the Indian subcontinent. (11th September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Biswas, Raaj Kishore; Afiaz, Awan; Huq, Samin
• Is Part Of: Epidemiology and infection. Volume 148(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-09-11
• Subjects: Data validity, -- health system, -- pandemic, -- SARS-CoV-2, -- underreporting; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Epidemiology -- Periodicals; 614.4
• DOI: 10.1017/S0950268820002095
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-2688

Abstract

Abstract: COVID-19 has spread across the globe with higher burden placed in Europe and North America. However, the rate of transmission has recently picked up in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the Indian subcontinent. There is a severe underreporting bias in the existing data available from these countries mostly due to the limitation of resources and accessibility. Most studies comparing cross-country cases or fatalities could fail to account for this systematic bias and reach erroneous conclusions. This paper provides several recommendations on how to effectively tackle these issues regarding data quality, test coverage and case counts.