At least two-thirds of the population surveyed in 11 States were found to have developed coronavirus antibodies, according to the findings of a serosurvey by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) done between June 14 and July 6. Seropositivity signifies the presence of antibodies in the blood serum.
Madhya Pradesh has the highest seropositivity at 79 per cent, followed by Rajasthan with 76.2 per cent, Bihar (75.9 per cent).
However, Kerala, Maharashtra and Assam, which are even now registering increased cases have reported comparatively lower seropositivity. Kerala is at the bottom with 44.4 per cent. Seroprevalence in Assam is 50.3 per cent and Maharashtra 58 per cent. It was 75.3 per cent in Gujarat, 74.6 per cent in Chhattisgarh, 73.1 per cent in Uttarakhand, 71 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 70.2 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, 69.8 per cent in Karnataka, 69.2 per cent in Tamil Nadu, and 68.1 per cent in Odisha.
As the Covid-19 third wave fear looms large, the Central Government has asked all States and UTs to conduct seroprevalence surveys in consultation with the ICMR to generate district-level data, which is essential in formulating localised public health response measures. States having lower seropositivity may have higher Covid vulnerable population.
In a letter, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has asked the additional chief secretary/principal secretary/secretary (Health) of all States to conduct such a survey.
The Union Health Ministry has referred to the findings of the fourth round of the National Sero-Prevalence Survey done by the ICMR and has asked the States to conduct the seroprevalence studies.
The findings of such studies can be utilised by the respective States/UTs to guide objective, transparent and evidence-based public health response to coronavirus, Bhushan said.
It has been noted that the ICMR has conducted the recent national serosurvey in 70 districts of India.
The national serosurvey by the ICMR was designed to capture the extent of the spread of the Covid-19 infection at the national level. Therefore, the national serosurvey results do not reflect the heterogeneity of seroprevalence between districts and even between States, the Ministry said in an official release.