2-day serological survey begins in Dera Bassi’s Jawaharpur village

MOHALI: To estimate the percentage of population that could have developed antibodies against the novel coronavirus, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Punjab government jointly began a two-day serological (or sero) survey in Jawaharpur village on Sunday.

The survey is intended to detect whether the person being tested has developed antibodies against the coronavirus. Antibodies are proteins that are produced by the body’s immune system to fight external organisms like viruses.

The survey teams went from house to house in the village and took blood samples of 125 persons in a random manner on the first day. Jawaharpur village in Dera Bassi became the first Covid hotspot of the district after 46 cases were reported here in April this year. At present, there are no positive cases in the village and all patients have fully recovered.

Civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh visited the spot. He said the survey was being conducted in five districts of Punjab and will help to assess how widespread Covid-19 could have become in a community.