BMC collects 6,000 blood samples for sero-survey

Over the past five days, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has tested more than 6,000 people in Mumbai under sero-survey to monitor the trend of the prevalence

Over the past five days, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has tested more than 6,000 people in Mumbai under sero-survey to monitor the trend of the prevalence of Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. The civic-body expects to complete the survey within the next two to three days.

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Under the national sero-survey of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), BMC has been collecting blood serum samples through door-to-door examination in the three wards— M/W (Tilaknagar and Chembur), F/N (Matunga, Sion and Wadala) and R/N (Dahisar and Mandapeshwar). Sero-survey is being undertaken in collaboration between the civic body, Niti Aayog and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

In sero-survey, a group of individuals undergo blood tests to detect the presence of IgG antibodies that are produced against Sars-Cov-2. This is done to identify the individuals who were previously infected with the virus and have now recovered. A total of 10,000 blood samples from individuals aged above 12 will be collected as random samples from slum and non-slum areas in the city.

“The Central government has given us the task to collect 10,000 samples. Within the next two to three days, we will be able to collect the remaining 4,000 samples unless rain hinders the survey,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, BMC. “We will get the report of the survey after a week.”

R-North is one of the wards with fewest Covid cases in the city with 1,759 cases, while M-West has 2,464 cases and F-North had 3,499 cases among wards with higher number of cases.

“The survey will help us gauge the spread of the virus. It will also help to detect hidden carriers among people. Overall, it will give us a perspective on the pandemic and our preparations,” said Kakani.

In the first phase, ICMR conducted the first sero-survey in the last week of May where more than 60 districts across the country were covered. It also included 10 hotspots in Mumbai including slums of Kandivli, Deonar, Dharavi and Kurla-Sakinaka.