THD NewsDesk, Pune: According to the latest survey, almost 50% of people in Pune have developed antibodies against the coronavirus virus. This survey called the ‘Epidemiological and Serological Surveillance of COVID-19’ in Pune City’, was funded by the Persistent Foundation, as reported on the 18th August 2020.
It was co-conducted by the Indian Institute of Education and Research (IISER), Pune, with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), Translational Health Science & Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, and the Christian Medical College, Vellore. The main study investigators were Aarti Nagarkar of SPPU and Arunab Ghose of IISER.
The wards selected for the survey were the worst- hit with a total mixed population of 3.66 lakh. These wards were Yerawada, Lohiyanagar- Kasewadi, Rastapeth- Ravivarpeth, Kasbapeth- Somwarpeth, and Navipeth- Parvati. Blood samples of 1,664 people were submitted from July to August in order to detect the presence of IgG antibodies.
In the study, it indicated a substantial increase in infection in these wards across all kinds of dwellings. The seroprevalence ranged from 36.1 percent to 65.4 percent.
The prevalence of seropositivity is shown to be lower in those dwellings with individual toilets in comparison with those dwelling with shared toilets. For example, seropositivity of 56-62 percent was noted among slums and shared housing, while 43.9 percent among residents of bungalows and 33 percent among those living in flats.
Differences in gender caused a slight difference in seropositivity, with men exhibiting 52.8 percent and women with 50.1. those above the age of 66 has a lower seroprevalence of 39.8 percent.
In the wards, Lohiyanagar- Kasewadi had 65.4 percent, Nevipeth- Parvati had 56.7 percent, Yerawada had 56.6 percent, Rastapeth- Ravivarpeth had 45.7 and Kasbapeth- Somwarpeth had 35.1 percent of seropositivity.
With these results, PMC intents to launch two more such sero- surveys covering larger a larger population. As it happens, the results of such surveys were much lower in Delhi with 23 percent and Mumbai with 36.5 percent the previous month.