One in every four have antibodies against COVID-19 in Telangana: ICMR sero survey
The third round of sero-surveillance conducted in the three districts of Telangana has found the sero-positivity rate that indicates prior exposure to SARS-CoV2 is 24 per cent.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 9 Feb 2021 11:27 AM GMT
Hyderabad: The third round of sero-surveillance conducted in the three districts of Telangana has found the sero-positivity rate that indicates prior exposure to SARS-CoV2 is 24 per cent. The sero-survey was conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in Jangaon, Nalgonda, and Kamareddy in December 2020.
The ICMR strategy has been to do repeat cross-sectional sero-studies in the same geographic locations so that the infection transmission trends can be documented and studied.
The first round of sero-survey conducted in May 2020 in the same districts showed a sero-prevalence of 0.33 per cent, while the second round in August showed 12.5 per cent prevalence and the current round had shown 24.1 per cent sero-prevalence.
The sero-prevalence at the national level went up 3.1 times between August and December but in Telangana it was up by two times. Telangana's sero-prevalence (24.1%) as of December 2020 was similar to that of the national average (24%). "This shows the effectiveness of robust containment measures in the state, including quarantine, contact tracing, and testing strategies," said Dr Hemalatha R, the director of ICMR-NIN.
Dr. Laxmaiah, the ICMR nodal officer, said good compliance and cooperation by the public in following COVID-19 protocols, including wearing masks, before the survey ensured that infection transmission remained slow and steady in the state.
Since three-fourth of the rural population is still susceptible, all non-pharmacological COVID-19 measures like wearing masks, hand sanitization, physical distancing should be continued.
