- The Delhi government had accumulated 100 specimens each from every municipal ward, including NDMC and cantonment zones. Out of the 11 districts, seroprevalence was least in North (49.09%) and highest in Southeast (62.18%).
THD NewsDesk, New Delhi: The fifth session of the serological survey conducted in Delhi between January 15 and 23 amongst 28,000 people has discovered that 56.13% of those examined had acquired antibodies against Covid-19.
Declaring the consequences, Health Minister Satyendar Jain Tuesday announced that this is the most comprehensive such study carried out by any state in India.
The Delhi government had accumulated 100 specimens each from every municipal ward, including NDMC and cantonment zones. Out of the 11 districts, seroprevalence was least in North (49.09%) and highest in Southeast (62.18%).
Jain said Delhi was “moving towards herd immunity, but only experts will be able to give a clear picture.”
“We should not get into the discussion of herd immunity. There are different estimates for the parameters. Looking at the situation, we should continue following socially appropriate behavior. The overall prevalence has been found at 56.13%. These people have already been infected with the disease and have recovered from the infection. Looking at data from all 11 districts, we can say that antibodies have been found in 49%-62% of those surveyed, and the average has been noted at 56.13%. The overall prevalence has been found more in women,” he said.
The first serological survey was jointly carried out by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Centre for Disease Control in the last week of June 2020. The Delhi government conducted the next four studies in August, September, October, and January.
Dr. Nutan Mundeja, Director General of Health Services, said, “This is a new disease, and we should not change our strategy depending on herd immunity. Let us wait and see; we do not want to give any wrong indication.”
The serosurvey carried out by NCDC in July last year suggested antibodies in 23% of those surveyed.
In August, the survey conducted by the Delhi government showed 29.1% had antibodies. The figure sank to 25.1% in September and stood at 25.5% in October. The next survey is expected to start after a break of one or two months.
“We have conducted this serosurvey along with Maulana Azad Medical College. We used CLIA technology, which is more sensitive than ELISA, and samples have been tested at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences to uniformity across the city. We have taken 100 samples from every type of population in each ward, and we have successfully been able to do it with the help of our health team and the ILBS team. This does not mean we suddenly bring a change in our behavior concerning Covid. We must maintain social distancing, wash hands regularly and wear a mask at all times,” said Dr. Mundeja.
Source: Indian Express