ICMR's Serosurvey: 30% Population In Containment Zones Exposed To COVID-19 And Silently Recovered

ICMR’s first nationwide serosurvey reveals that one-third of the population in most containment zones have been infected. The report has been submitted to the PMO as the findings and the daily surge in number is worrisome for the citizens.

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New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted a community-based national serosurvey and found that around 15 to 30 percent of individuals in containment zones are exposed to coronavirus. According to the survey as high as one-third of the population in many containment areas in hotspots, cities may have already been infected by the virus and quietly recovered. ICMR has said that these are initial reports and final results are being finalized. According to a report by The New Indian Express, the ICMR, with help from the National Centre for Disease Control, World Health Organisation's India office, and the state governments had collected nearly 24,000 samples from 70 districts in the country from randomly picked individuals. According to reports, blood samples of individuals were taken from hotspots in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Delhi, Indore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Jaipur – that contribute nearly 70 percent of the country’s total cases. In the survey, antibody tests have been carried out using a testing kit, "COVID Kavach Elisa" developed by the National Institute of Virology under the ICMR which the agency claims can detect the presence of even low levels of antibodies against novel coronavirus almost accurately. This is ICMR’s first nationwide serosurvey and the initial results have reportedly been shared with the Union cabinet secretary and the PMO. What is Serosurvey? In a serosurvey, blood samples of people are collected to test for the presence of antibodies specific to a pathogen. In this case, it was meant to test for IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 that normally appear 14 days after the infection and continue to be present in the blood serum for months. Also Watch| Community spread of Coronavirus in Delhi?