Sero survey suggests 7.75% people in Indore have Covid-19 antibodies
As per 2011 census, Indore’s population was 1.94 million. However, the present population in the city is supposed to be 2.6 million which suggests 203,160 people in the city have developed antibodies.
A sero survey report on Madhya Pradesh’s Indore made public on Friday suggested that as many as 7.75 percent people of the city have developed antibodies against Covid-19. This brought a sense of relief in the administration and the government that there was no community spread of the disease, but at the same time raised concern too that a huge population in the city is still vulnerable to the disease.
As per 2011 census, Indore’s population was 1.94 million. However, the present population in the city is supposed to be 2.6 million which suggests 203,160 people in the city have developed antibodies, officials said.
Commissioner of Indore division Pawan Sharma shared the sero survey report with the public during a programme on Friday and said, “The survey was conducted in the city from August 11 to 23 during which samples of 7,103 persons were collected. About 95 percent people cooperated with the survey for which 85 teams were engaged.”
The ward-wise breakup of the results showed that there are at least five wards which were worst affected by Covid-19 where more than 20 percent of people were found to have developed antibodies.
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Speaking on the occasion, deputy director of National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, Dr Meera Dhuria said, “After the report, citizens of Indore should not think that they have developed herd immunity and that there would be no cases of infection. The report suggests the government and the administration took effective measures to control the spread of the virus but people are required to continue to follow non-pharmaceutical safety measures like sanitisation, mask, social distancing etc. Studies suggested that the virus spread was much more in crowded places in the cities as in slum areas of Mumbai.”
State additional chief secretary, health, Mohd Suleman said, “The report suggests that our containment strategy worked well in the city and it corroborates our claim that there was no community spread of the disease. Certain localities which we had identified earlier had a prevalence of the disease on a higher side but with an effective strategy, the spread of the virus was controlled from spreading to other localities.”
However, he added, “the report also suggests that there are more than 92 percent of people who are still susceptible to the disease and we have to be prepared to deal with the situation accordingly. The battle is going to be a long one and we have to continue to implement our strategy as effectively as we have done it till now.”
Dean of MGM Medical College, Indore, Dr Jyoti Bindal and head of the respiratory department of Shri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS), Indore, Dr Ravi Doshi expressed similar concerns.
A pulmonologist who didn’t want to be named said, “The survey results should be analysed comprehensively to arrive at a conclusion. A low percentage of 7.75 percent doesn’t mean that the virus spread was not much prevalent in the city. It may vary from locality to locality.”
