Mumbai’s civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has stated that the third serological survey in the city indicated that seropositivity was on the decline in slum areas.
Moreover, the civic body has maintained that slum areas remain in focus when it comes to the detection of coronavirus cases and vaccination. According to BMC officials, it is crucial to focus on the slum areas as the new variant of the current virus spreads fast. In addition, experts have also opined that another solution to control spread in densely populated slums is also to ensure that vaccination is done on a priority basis.
According to reports, a serological survey indicates a population-level prevalence of antibodies against the coronavirus. It indicates that a person has been exposed to the virus and has recovered from it. However, it does not detect the level of antibodies in the person.
While the first serosurvey was conducted in July 2020 in three wards, the second one was done in August last year in the same wards. For the current survey, blood samples were collected from municipal dispensaries and private medical laboratories as well.
The first serosurvey last July showed 57 per cent of the population in the slums had antibodies. This reduced to 45 per cent in the second survey in August 2020, and 41.6 per cent this March. In non-slums, the first serosurvey showed that 16 per cent were exposed to the virus in July 2020. This rose to 18 per cent by August, and 28.5 per cent this March.
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