As cases rise, ICMR asks states to do sero-surveys

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, May 31

As India recorded the highest-ever single day surge of 8,380 Covid cases today taking the national disease burden to 1,82,143, the Indian Council of Medical Research asked states to urgently conduct sero surveillance to detect the disease prevalence in the community.

The sero surveillance test is an antibody test to help understand the proportion of population exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection, including asymptomatic individuals.

‘Test industrial workers’

Among categories of people the ICMR has asked states to test for Covid virus antibodies are: immune-compromised patients of HIV, TB, kidney ailments, pneumonia, people in containment areas, security, police, paramilitary personnel, vendors, shopkeepers, press corps, industrial workers, baking and courier workers and symptomatic prisoners

“Depending upon the level of sero-prevalence of infection, appropriate public health interventions can be planned and implemented for the prevention and control of the disease. Periodic sero surveys are useful to guide the policy makers,” the ICMR said to states.

The survey in high risk or vulnerable populations (health care workers, frontline workers, immune-compromised individuals, individuals in containment zones) also helps to know who has been infected in the past and has now recovered and, therefore, has antibodies to the virus.

The ICMR has recommended that states use the indigenous ELISA antibody year it has developed for the purpose.

“The RTPCR test is useful only when performed in an acute stage of infection at less than seven days. For several viral infections, antibody tests are useful for disease detection after five to seven days of illness. Understanding related to antibody tests for Covid is evolving and several tests are being developed globally,” said the ICMR.