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Initial Covid-19 infection rate in US may be far more than reported: Study

The study noted that the excess ILI showed a nearly perfect correlation with the spread of Covid-19 around the country

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Citing an example, the researchers said at least 9 per cent of New York's entire population was infected by the end of March.

Press Trust of India Washington

3 min read Last Updated : Jun 23 2020 | 6:36 PM IST

The number of early Covid-19 cases in the US may have been more than 80 times greater, and likely doubled nearly twice as fast as originally believed, according to a study which says the undercounting may have been due to testing issues, and the prevalence of asymptomatic individuals.

In the study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the scientists estimated the detection rate of symptomatic Covid-19 cases using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) influenza-like illnesses (ILI) surveillance data over a three week period in March 2020.

"We analysed each state's ILI cases to estimate the number

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