Sero Study Done in Mumbai: Slums Score over the Residential Societies

Serological surveillance study done in 6936 people in three municipal wards in slums and non-slum areas in Mumbai showed a very high proportion of asymptomatic COVID 19 infection. The survey has been conducted by NITI Ayog, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

What has the study shown?

As per the data collected in the survey, around 57% seroprevalence in slums and 16% seroprevalence in non-slum areas have been recorded, on an average, for the wards where this study has been carried out. In Mumbai, the testing capacity has been ramped up and also the number of daily cases is declining on a daily basis.

What is Sero-Prevalence Study?

It is the number of persons in a population who test positive for a specific disease based on serology i.e. blood serum specimens and it is presented as a per cent of the total specimens tested or as a proportion per 100000 persons tested. In India, the first such study was conducted in Delhi in June-July and it was found that only 23% of people have developed immunity against the deadly virus. Since then the Delhi government has decided to conduct such a survey every month.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2020