Nagpur: The health department and divisional administration will conduct second sero surveillance in Nagpur district in March. Blood samples of about 4,000 people from Nagpur city and district will be tested for IgG antibodies which indicate exposure to the novel coronavirus.
The first full-fledged sero survey conducted in October 2020 had shown near 50% prevalence of Covid-19 in the city.
“Administration is gearing up for the second sero survey next month. The exercise is important to understand how widespread the prevalence of Covid-19 is in the population,” said divisional commissioner Sanjeev Kumar.
Dr Uday Narlawar of GMCH, Nagpur, who was nodal officer for the survey conducted in October, will head the second one too. “The second sero survey will be conducted on the lines of the first one. We will collect blood samples of 2,000 citizens from Nagpur city and 2,000 from Nagpur rural (district),” said Dr Narlawar.
The city will be divided into 10 zones and 200 samples will be collected from each zone. The zone will be divided into four clusters and 50 samples will be collected from each cluster.
In Nagpur rural, 50 samples each will be collected from three villages in 13 tehsils and one additional village from Nagpur tehsil.
According to Dr Narlawar, blood sample collection and survey process will start immediately after the administration completes the formalities and clear expenses.
“The survey is most likely to start from March second week. Last time, the result took around a month. But this time, it will come even earlier,” he said.
Sero survey 2.0
- Provides estimate of Covid-19 prevalence in population
- People who have experienced mild or asymptomatic illness with no signs or symptoms and did not seek medical care or test will be tested
- 2,000 citizens from 10 zones of Nagpur, and 2,000 from 13 tehsils of Nagpur district will be tested
- First survey held in October had shown near 50% prevalence of Covid-19 in city