Samples from 280 wards to be collected in 6th Sero-Survey

The sixth serological survey to ascertain the prevalence of COVID-19 infection has begun this week in Delhi and would cover 280 wards of the national capital, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain informed on Saturday.

Around 28,000 samples will be collected to conduct the survey, 100 each from 280 wards, he added.

Jain said that the process of collecting samples would take a week and another to process them. “All 280 wards falling under municipal corporations, New Delhi Municipal Council and cantonment board will be covered. The result will be after two weeks, he informed,” he added.

So far, five serosurveys have been conducted in Delhi. Sero-surveys are done to ascertain the proportion of the population that might have immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The officials said that for the first time, a portion of the samples will also be tested to calculate the levels of neutralising antibodies that directly target the virus. They also expect the latest survey to reflect a seroprevalence of up to 80% or more.

The previous serosurvey was conducted in April and was interrupted midway as the second wave of the pandemic swept through the national capital due to rising cases of COVID-19. However, the 13,000 samples that were already collected before the survey was suspended showed that nearly 56 per cent of the respondents turned positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

The results were similar to those obtained in the serosurvey in January. Around 56.1 per cent of samples found with antibodies among people screened during the fifth survey. United News Of India