A community-based sero-survey to determine the extent of spread of Covid- 19 in the population was conducted by the Indian Medical Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 83 districts of the country in May 2020. It included six districts from Maharashtra -- Ahmednagar, Beed, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Nanded and Sangli.
For this survey, blood samples of 40 people from randomly selected 10 groups (400 total) in these districts were tested for the presence of antibodies in blood plasma using the ELISA technique developed by the National Institute of Virology. “We had obtained 2,385 samples, of which only 27 samples tested positive for Covid, which means the positive rate of infection is 1.13 per cent. This shows that the spread of Covid-19 in the general population is minimal and that the lockdown strategy has worked. But this also suggests that most of the population in the state has not developed immunity against COVID-19,” said Dr Awate.
“We also urged citizens to emphasize the preventive and control aspects of the disease such as physical distancing, handwashing, respiratory etiquettes, sanitation of frequently-touched surfaces etc. Strong focus on effective surveillance and meticulous containment strategy is key in the times to come,” he added.
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