Doctors find BMC’s sero study findings a bit hard to digest

Survey says only 15% Covid patients had diabetes, doctors say 20% of Mumbai’s population is diabetic

A mere 15 per cent of individuals from slum and nonslum areas have a history of diabetes along with Covid19, according to the first serological survey conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in collaboration with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). However, doctors say this number is low, as more than 20 per cent of Mumbai's population is diabetic. Researchers also said, the fear of being quarantined kept most people from residential areas from revealing their actual health status during the study.

According to the survey, 144 (6 per cent) of 2,387 slumdwellers and 30 (8.37 per cent) of 358 people from non-slum areas were diabetics. The civic body, along with NITI Aayog and the TIFR, had on July 3 started sero-surveillance in three wards—M-West (Tilak Nagar and Chembur), F-North (Matunga, Sion and Wadala) and R-North (Dahisar and Mandapeshwar). The study

involved a group of individuals being subjected to blood tests to detect the presence of Immunoglobulin-G (IgG) antibodies.

Principal investigator of the survey Ullas S Kolthur and researcher Sandeep Juneja from the TIFR said most participants, both from slum and non-slum areas, had provided wrong information related to their health. Now another study is necessitated, to ascertain facts. “This week, we will restart the survey afresh in the same wards, to ascertain the exact percentage of the spread of the virus,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani.