Coronavirus pandemic | Poor hygiene, unsanitary conditions may have made Indians more immune to COVID-19

India has one-sixth of the total coronavirus caseload globally. However, the corresponding death toll of less than two percent, which is one of the lowest in the world. An explanation for this was provided by a research recently conducted by Indian scientists.

The study suggested poor hygiene, lack of clean drinking water, and unsanitary conditions might have kept Indians from contracting severe COVID-19 infections. This means, people living in low and lower middle-income nations may be more immune to COVID-19 and other infections because of their sustained exposure to multiple pathogens since birth.

One paper that remains to be peer reviewed looked at data available in the public domain of 106 countries and compared them based on 24 parameters including population density, demography, and quality of sanitation. The researchers involved with the study found that COVID-19 deaths were higher in high income countries.

According to a BBC report, epidemiologists have also attributed the low coronavirus death rate in countries such as India to its demography – that is higher share of young population – as the elderly are more prone to dying of the viral disease.

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As of November 1, Rajasthan reported 1,754 new cases of the novel coronavirus, taking its tally to 1,98,747. With over 16.83 lakh cases, Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally remains the highest among Indian states and union territories, according to the Union Health Ministry's latest update.

India has recorded more than 82.2 lakh cases of the novel coronavirus and 1.2 lakh deaths. Of these, more than 5.6 lakh are active cases while over 75.4 lakh have recovered.

Across the country, 8.5 lakh samples were tested for the novel coronavirus on November 1, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said.