A Keynote On The Delhi’s Serological Survey

The NCDC is administered by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Directorate General of Health Services. The purpose of a Delhi serological survey is to see if the person being examined has developed antibodies to a virus or bacteria. Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system to combat external organisms that try to enter the body, such as viruses. These are only created once an infection has occurred. As a result, these are particular to the virus or bacteria that is attacking. As a result, the presence of antibodies indicates that the virus or bacteria has already been infected. These antibodies can block further efforts to infect the body.

In the instance of Covid-19, what is the goal?

For authorities to make choices and organise containment measures, they need information regarding the scope of the spread. However, in the case of the Covid-19 epidemic, testing everyone is impossible. It’s unclear how many people are affected in the general community. This is especially true because most individuals exhibit no signs or symptoms of the condition. As a result, a serological study was conducted to determine the extent to which Covid-19 had disseminated. Antibodies can be found in random groups of people, which can be used to estimate the degree of disease dissemination in a population.

What exactly is the problem?

Coronavirus-specific antibodies were detected in roughly 23% of the samples tested in a recent Delhi serological survey. Here’s a look at the survey’s goal and how it relates to “herd immunity.”

What were the outcomes?

About 23% of the nearly 21,000 people who were tested had coronavirus-specific antibodies, according to the Sero survey India. This suggests that a large number of people were infected at some point. Because random persons were tested, it was clear that the disease had gone considerably further than diagnostic testing suggested. [In Delhi, roughly 14% of people who were tested for the virus were found to be infected.] According to the findings, approximately 46 lakh people in Delhi may have been infected thus far, and “herd immunity” may be approaching.

So, what exactly is herd immunity?

A stage of an epidemic in which some members of a population group remain immune to infection is known as herd immunity. This is due to the fact that the vast majority of persons in their immediate vicinity have already obtained immunity, either through vaccination or infection. As a result, no one in the population group needs to become infected before the epidemic ends. Once a certain percentage of the population has been infected and developed immunity, the epidemic slows down and eventually stops.

Findings of importance:

IgG antibodies have formed in 22.86 per cent of those polled, indicating that they had been exposed to the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19. This demonstrates that the government’s proactive steps to prevent the spread of Covid-19, such as prompt lockdown, effective containment and surveillance measures, contact tracing and tracking, and citizen compliance, were successful.

Sero-surveillance in the Past:

In April 2020, the ICMR performed a pilot serosurvey in 83 districts across 21 states. The preliminary findings, which are still being peer-reviewed, suggested that 0.73 percent of the general population could have been infected, with a greater prevalence of 1.09 per cent in metropolitan areas.

Concerns: 

The seropositivity rate of 23.48 per cent cannot be extended to the total population of Delhi. Furthermore, there is currently insufficient scientific data on the level and duration of immunity that the body develops once a person tests positive for Covid.

Government Response: 

• Impact of Proactive Efforts: In a study conducted in a city with several densely populated areas, only 23.48 per cent were found to be infected, demonstrating that the government’s proactive efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19, which included prompt lockdown, effective containment and surveillance measures, contact tracing and tracking, as well as citizens’ compliance, had yielded benefits.
• Challenges: The new coronavirus infection still poses a threat to a large section of the population (about 77 per cent).
• Containment measures must be maintained with the same level of rigour.
• Physical separation, use of a face mask/cover, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and avoidance of crowded places, among other non-pharmacological therapies, must be closely followed.

Conclusion:

The reliable data gathered during the study will aid in disease control efforts. Such scientific studies are critical and should be conducted on antibodies on a regular basis in order to learn from the past. Simply put, the poll is being undertaken to determine the capital’s viral exposure. This is because the capital has one of the highest positivity rates in the country, indicating the percentage of people who test positive among those tested. For example, Delhi’s positivity rate has been about 25% for a few weeks, whilst Sero Survey India’s positivity rate has been at 7.7% from June 5 to June 18.