Second round of sero survey starts in J&K’s Pulwama

A day after releasing the results of the first sero-prevalence survey in Srinagar, Government Medical College has begun the second round in Pulwama district.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is conducting the second round of the national sero-survey to monitor the trend of SARS-CoV-2 infection transmission across the country. The first round was held in May and June this year. The prevalence of IgG antibody titers was found to be 0.73% among the general population.

GMC, Srinagar, head of community medicine and nodal officer for the ICMR sero survey for Pulwama Dr S Muhammad Salim Khan said in the second round, data be collected through an app and blood samples will be taken to assess immunoglobulin-Gamma (Ig-G) against SARS-CoV-2, which will determine the prevalence of infection in the recent past and the body’s immune response to the SARS CoV-2 infection.

“Each selected site collects data and blood samples of 400 participants, including children over 10 years of age,” Khan said.

ICMR is conducting the study through its regional centres. However, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare secretary and ICMR director general Dr Balram Bhargava has asked Government Medical College, Srinagar, to conduct the study in Pulwama district on its behalf .

“A team from Government Medical College, Srinagar, comprising faculty, resident doctors and medical interns from the department of community medicine (SPM) have been deputed by Dr Samia Rashid, dean, GMC, Srinagar, for conducting the survey in ICMR-assigned ten clusters in Pulwama,” said Khan, adding that the blood samples will be sent to the ICMR lab at Chennai.

In the first round, the sero-prevalence in district Pulwama was found to be 2%, which was higher than the national average of 0.73%, while a recent study by GMC Srinagar in Srinagar showed a 3.8% prevalence among the general population, which is almost twice the prevalence in Pulwama.