Ggm: Prep on for third serosurvey

Gurugram: The district administration of Gurugram has now begun preparations for conducting the third round of Serosurvey, expected to begin next week. With an emphasis on rural areas, 400 samples will be tested in Gurugram during this round. This is a significantly lower sample size than the previous serosurveys.

The samples that will be tested would be from four clusters of urban Gurugram and 16 clusters from rural Gurugram. Some of the main areas that are included in the rural clusters are Dooma, Mushedpur, Bhondi, Khetiawas, Lohtaki, Wazirabad, Sanchauli and Khalilpur Tolni.

For urban clusters, the areas include Mullahera, Basai enclave, Naharpur Roopa and Patel Nagar.

According to health officials, industrial workers, farmers, shop owners would form a large part of this round of serosurvey. Most people in the age categories of 18-44 and 41-60 are expected to be tested by officials in this round of serosurvey.

In the first round of serosurvey that was conducted in August last year, 10.8 per cent of samples tested had COVID-19 antibodies. This increased to 16.5 per cent when the second round was conducted in October. In both these surveys, urban areas had a higher prevalence of infection as compared to rural areas. This time, however, health officials have expressed the possibility of a higher prevalence of COVID-19 in rural parts.

"The third leg of serosurvey that will be conducted in Gurugram will be a part of the extensive survey that will be conducted in the other 21 districts of Haryana. With sample size less this time, the process is expected to be completed within a day. We have placed orders and are waiting for kits and equipment to be delivered following which we will begin our survey," said a senior official from the Gurugram Health Department.