In a first, Maharashtra’s fourth sero survey to include kids above 6 years

Maharashtra health department started the fourth serological survey in six districts — Beed, Parbhani, Nanded, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, and Sangli — to gauge the prevalence of Covid-19 in the general population, from Monday

Maharashtra health department started the fourth serological survey in six districts — Beed, Parbhani, Nanded, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, and Sangli — to gauge the prevalence of Covid-19 in the general population, from Monday. With an increase in the number of Covid cases among children in the second wave, children above the age of six years will be included in the survey for the first time.

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Serological survey examines how many people in a population have been infected with Covid-19 and recovered from it. It is undertaken to gauge the prevalence of the virus in a particular area. The blood serum of a group of individuals is tested using an antibody test, also known as a serology test.

Public health officials said a total of 3,000 participants will be included in the survey including 1,680 adults, 720 aged between six and 18, and 600 healthcare workers (HCW).

“We will take 400 samples from each district. Of this, 100 will be from HCWs and 120 samples will be from children between the age group of six and 18 years. The result is expected in a month,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer.

He further said that samples of children will be collected in two age groups — six-nine years and 10-18 years. A total of 40 samples will be taken from each district from six-nine age group and 80 samples will be collected from the second age group.

“Through the results of the sero survey, we would be able to understand the prevalence of the virus among the general population including children and HCWs. With the mutation of Sars-CoV-2, it is imperative to understand to what extent it has been transmitted among the crowd,” said Dr Archana Patil, Maharashtra director of health service. “Also, such surveys show the seropositivity levels within a population which helps in predicting the pandemic’s future trends,” she added.

In the national first sero survey, young adults above 18 years had participated. While in the second and third rounds, samples were collected from children in the age bracket of 10 years and above. But considering the spike in Covid-19 cases among children below 10 years in the second wave, the age limit for sample collection has been reduced to six years.

“It is a good decision to conduct the sero survey among children as young as six years. It would give us a better perspective of the actual scene of infection prevalence among young children,” said Dr Bakul Parekh, former president of Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) and part of the paediatric Covid task force.

“The sero survey will be very useful in making educated decisions about reopening of schools. A seroprevalence similar to adults would help allay fears of the third wave largely affecting children, and would help model transmission dynamics when it comes to children. It would definitely help inform policy and is a welcome move,” said Dr Lancelot Pinto, pulmonologist from Hinduja Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is also planning to conduct a separate sero survey among children between the age group of 0 and 18 years. Data from the civic body shows that in April, 4,351 children aged between 0 and 9 years contracted Covid-19 in Mumbai. The number plunged to 3,139 in May as the overall cases reported a decline. Similarly, in April, 12,277 Covid patients were from the 10-19 age group which decreased to 3,139 the next month.

Dr Ramesh Bharmal, dean, BYL Nair Hospital, said, “We have witnessed a huge rise in Covid-19 cases among children in the second wave. Though mortality rate has remained under control, we need to know the actual figure of transmission among children as many may have remained asymptomatic.”

The fourth sero survey will be coordinated by Indian Council of Medical Research -National AIDS Research Institute (ICMR-NARI), Pune with Dr Sampada Bangar and Dr Seema Sahay as nodal and co-nodal officers. This sero survey is a part of the nation-wide community-based 4th sero survey for Covid-19 initiated by the Central government. A total of 28,000 samples will be collected across 70 districts in India.