COVID 19 Poll: Mapping Symptoms in the #CoronaTracker

Apr 30, 2020 | 3 min read

Breaking down Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) symptoms reported using the daily tracker Apart from using the daily #CoronaTracker to capture the public perception of the Coronavirus, the Team C-Voter poll also asks respondents to report any ILI (Influenza Like Illness) symptoms they are suffering from. Additionally, respondents are also asked if anyone in their household or neighbourhood has seen such symptoms.

What are ILI symptoms and why are they important?

Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), also commonly known as flu-like syndrome or symptoms, are nonspecific respiratory illnesses which may be characterized by fever, fatigue, or cough. Most of the ILI cases are caused by viruses such as coronavirus, human respiratory syncytial virus, adenoviruses, amongst others.

A health official uses a swab to collect a sample from a woman. (Source: Getty)

In order to collect data on the same, the #CoronaTracker asks respondents to report all 7 major symptoms as reported by the World Health Organization and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) including high fever, tiredness, dry cough, difficulty in breathing, cold/nasal congestion/runny nose, body pain and sore throat pain.

As of April 10, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has ordered Coronavirus testing for anyone with ILI symptoms. Monitoring and testing anyone showing signs of influenza-like illness is critical in being able to identify and contain the spread of the Coronavirus.

As the graph above shows, while the percentage of respondents reporting ILI symptoms (for themselves, family or neighbourhood) fluctuated till about the first week of April, the number seems to have stabilized at around 1% since mid-April till now.

Medical staff in protective gear treating suspected Coronavirus patients in Chennai. (Source: Reuters)

How can ILI symptoms be classified?

In order to analyze the self-reported ILI symptoms, these were separated into three categories: mild, serious and critical. Respondents showing 4 or fewer symptoms were defined as “mild”, those more than 4 but less than 7 as “serious” and those with all 7 as “critical”.

It is interesting to note that when analyzing responses over the month of April, we see the “mild” set of symptoms account for roughly 80% of all reported symptoms, while “serious” symptoms account for roughly 15% and “critical” account for around 5%. This pattern of ILI symptoms is comparable to the global spread of Coronavirus, with around 80% of positive cases being classified as “mild”, around 14% as severe, and just under 5% as critical.

A doctor holds a swab test of a resident in Dharavi in Mumbai. (Source: Reuters)

Meanwhile, the total number of positive Coronavirus cases in India is at 31, 787 as of April 29th with cases doubling every 11 days. As the end of the second lockdown, the period approaches on May 3rd, the number of cases reported has increased to 12% in the past 2 days. In our next infographic, we will breakdown the trends in the ILI symptom reports and compare them with actual cases in India using the daily #CoronaTracker

-Shreya Maskara/New Delhi
From Polstrat, a non-partisan political consultancy which aims to shift the narrative of political discourse in the country from a problem-centric to a solutions-oriented approach. The survey was carried out by Team CVoter (Center For Voting Opinions and Trends in Election Research), a leading international stakeholder research organization with its roots in India

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