15K reconciliation Covid deaths added; Maharashtra to study pattern in first, second wave

In the second wave of the pandemic, around 15,000 backlog deaths related to novel coronavirus have been added to the cumulative fatality in the state

In the second wave of the pandemic, around 15,000 backlog deaths related to novel coronavirus have been added to the cumulative fatality in the state. Now, the state Covid-19 death audit committee will conduct a study on the fatalities reported in the first and second waves to understand the epidemiological characteristics of Sars-Cov-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) and its variants.

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In the state, till May 30, a total of 121,945 citizens have succumbed to the Covid since its outbreak in March 2020. However, the experts have observed that district-wise death rates have varied in the first and second waves. For instance, in the first wave, the highest death rate was recorded in Bhiwandi, Latur, Nagpur rural and Solapur, while in the second wave, rural areas like Nanded rural, Malegaon, Kolhapur, Sangli, Ratnagiri, Amravati rural have registered the highest fatality.

Taking this into consideration, experts from the state Covid-19 death audit committee have decided to study each death to find out any hidden clues about the changing pattern of the new virus which is still 16 months old.

“We have decided to start a comparative study of the deaths recorded in the first and second wave which may help us to understand the new characteristics of the virus. We need to check if symptoms of infection among the deceased patients varied from last year. If we can find any hidden clue, it may also help us in the third wave,” said Dr Avinash Supe, in charge of the committee.

It has been observed that many of the rural areas have recorded a high fatality rate. Experts believe that this could be attributed to the variant of Sars-Cov-2.

“A few variants of Sars-Cov-2 have been found in Ratnagiri where the fatality rate has been high. So, there is a possibility that it is related to the mutated virus but until we do the study, it would be unscientific to confirm any hypothesis,” he said.

The state’s overall case fatality rate stands at 2.01%. In the first wave, the case fatality rate in the state was 2.7%, which means that for every hundred positive cases, Maharashtra witnessed around three deaths. During the second wave, the mortality rate has fallen to 0.71%

“The disease load was tremendously high in the second wave but the fatality was under control. This could be because of a variant that is more infectious but deadly. This has been observed in all age groups,” said Dr Pradip Awate, surveillance officer in Maharashtra’s epidemic control department.

Dr Sanjay Salunke, civil surgeon at Sangli, said most hospitals mention Covid-19 as the primary cause of death on the application. But it is officially confirmed only after the auditing team puts a confirmation stamp on it.

“All districts have Covid death audit committees that examine health complications or casualties that are part of the deceased patient’s medical reports before confirming the death as Covid or non-Covid. If a deceased patient had too many health complications which the district-level experts fail to categorise, then it is referred to the state audit committee,” he said.