BHOPAL: More than 7,000 people will be tested randomly in the state capital under serological survey to check the prevalence of antibodies in them amid the raging Covid-19 outbreak.
Teams comprising 60 health workers will conduct door-to-door Sero-survey in the city. The training of the health workers will begin from September 3.
The sero-survey is conducted to detect the presence of Covid-19 fighting antibodies in the general population. The work will involve testing blood (serum or plasma) samples from people for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The administration took the decision to undertake the survey as the city witnessed a surge in coronavirus cases in August and there is no let-up in the cases. August saw a rise in corona cases by more than 3800 in Bhopal.
Divisional Commissioner Kavindra Kiyawat said, “ The sero-survey will be conducted for ten days during which 7,000 people will be tested. The survey would be conducted under the guidance of New-Delhi based National Centre for Disease Control and Gandhi Medical College (GMC). Sero-surveys are important also to determine whether the disease has entered the community transmission stage.”
Results from the study will indicate success of prevention efforts of the administration in the state capital. Health teams including lab technicians will be involved in the survey. PPE kits and other protection gear would be mandatory for survey teams.
Sero-surveillance provides estimates of antibody levels against infectious diseases and is considered the gold standard for measuring population immunity due to past infection or vaccination. It is an important component of disease surveillance and complements notification, hospitalisation, mortality and immunisation coverage data. The work will involve testing blood (serum or plasma) samples from people for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Serosurveys will provide information on what proportion of the population may have acquired immunity to COVID-19, and be able to track this over time.
