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Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 11
In a first, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) is all set to start a serological survey of children in the age group of two to 18 years this month to determine the burden of COVID 19 infection at the community level among children in Chandigarh.
The survey will be conducted in 10 slums/resettlement, 10 sectors, and 10 villages of Chandigarh region. PGIMER Director Jagat Ram informed, "We are working on its modalities like ethical clearance, logistic arrangement and planning, such as from which part of Chandigarh's rural and urban areas, the samples will be collected for checking the prevalence of antibodies against the Sars-Cov-2 pathogen in them.
What is sero survey?
Sero survey examines how many people in a population have been infected with Covid-19 and recovered from it. It is done to identify the prevalence of the virus in a particular area. The survey is conducted by using an antibody test, also known as a serology test. It examines if an individual’s immune system has responded to the infection. It is important to carry out the survey to know the prevalence of the disease in the population as only cases reported to the authorities are known. But, there are several cases that don’t come to the notice for various reasons such as asymptomatic or people didn’t report. So, the sero survey gives a rough idea of the population exposed to the virus. The sero survey also helps in knowing what percentage of a population has developed immunity against virus.
“The launch of the survey in the next seven to 10 days and the sample size of the survey would be 2500-2700,” he said.
Prof Jagat Ram said the results of the samples would be out within one month of the launch of the survey.
"Since children have not been covered for vaccination against the virus and given that an anticipated third wave is expected to affect children more than adults, the result of the survey would help understand the prevalence of antibodies in them," he added.
A community health expert of PGIMER, who is part of this survey said, “The results of the survey will tell us whether the schools should be opened and the need for vaccination among children. A lot of people have been infected in second wave and the survey will give us an idea about prevalence of infection among the community and also about the group of population that remains susceptible to infection in the third wave.”
The Administrator had directed that Sero-Survey should be conducted in the entire city. The PGIMER will conduct sero tests for persons below 18 years of age and the entire expenses will be borne by the Chandigarh Administration. The Government Medical College and Hospital will conduct sero survey of persons above the age of 18 years.
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