2nd sero survey begins next week

CHANDIGARH : With Covid-19 cases registering a new high, Punjab will conduct its second serological survey next week to assess the ground reality and the percentage of population in the state that has already contracted the infection and recovered without treatment.

Sero-surveys use tests that examine the liquid part of blood, or ‘serum’, not nose, throat and mouth fluid and detect an immune response to virus material. One of the immune responses is making proteins, called antibodies, that stick (or ‘bind’) to the virus. These show up within a few days after the infection, which itself disappears after a couple of weeks, but the anti-virus antibodies remain in the blood for a fairly long time, at least for months.

The first survey done in the first week of August in containment zones of five worst-hit districts had found that 27.7% (nearly one in every four) of people living in these areas were positive for covid antibodies. This indicated that they had been infected, but had recovered from the novel coronavirus without getting treatment.

At the time of the first survey, 50,000 people were tested positive. Now, the number is likely to double and touch 1 lakh over the next couple of days. Experts claim that the prevalence of antibodies in the public could be high, and its assessment would help it shift its strategy in the fight against pandemic.

“The preparation and strategy for this second sero survey is being finalised,” said Punjab’s nodal officer for covid-19, Dr Rajesh Bhaskar.

The earlier survey had found the prevalence of antibodies in containment zones to be the highest in Amritsar district at 40% of population, followed by 35.6% in Ludhiana, 33.2% in Mohali, 19.2% in Patiala district and 10.8% in Jalandhar.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is also conducting its sero survey in all states. From Punjab, they have taken 440 samples from Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Gurdaspur. “The outcome of this survey is likely to be made public in coming week as the sampling and testing has been done,” said a senior health official.

The preparation and strategy for this second sero survey is being finalised. Now, we are planning to take samples from across the state DR RAJESH BHASKAR, Punjab’s nodal officer for Covid-19