Hyderabad: National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) in association with the Telangana government is going to take up fourth round of sero survey in Jangaon, Kamareddy and Nalgonda districts of Telangana State.
The survey which is part of the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) country-wide sero-surveillance checks antibodies among individuals.
Earlier three rounds were conducted in these districts in the months of May, August and December 2020. In these rounds, adolescents i.e., age between 10 and 17, persons aged above 18 and healthcare workers.
In the fourth round, apart from all age groups of three rounds, children aged 6-9 years are also included.
The IgG antibody-based sero-positivity indicates the extent of spread in the general population. This will help monitor the trends of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the general population and frontline workers, thus forming the basis for strengthening control measures for the impending spike in numbers, if any.
“This will be the fourth in the serial cross-sectional surveys and about 400 subjects will be covered from 10 villages of each of the three districts. In addition, 100 HCWs from district hospitals, community health centres and so on will be covered from each district,” said Dr A Laxmaiah, Head of the Public Health Division at ICMR-NIN and the co-ordinator of the survey.
Dr Hemalatha R, Director, ICMR-NIN said, “the population-based seroepidemiological studies will help us determine the burden of Covid-19 infection at the community level. For this purpose, we are actively working in association with the Telangana State government. We are happy that the State Health Department and the district authorities have ensured smooth operationalisation of this surveillance.”
COVID-19 cases in Telangana
On Monday, Telangana reported 1,197 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 6,14,399. After nine more fatalities, the death toll rose to 3,576.
As per a bulletin issued by the state government providing details as of 5.30 pm on Monday, the Greater Hyderabad accounted for the most number of cases with 137 followed by Nalgonda (84) and Suryapet (72) districts.