Bhubaneswar Civic Body Conducts Sero-Survey Of Mediapersons

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday conducted a sero-survey of mediapersons to determine their exposure to coronavirus.

The BMC organized a special health camp at Saheed Nagar in the city to conduct the serological survey, which involves testing of blood serum to check the prevalence of antibodies against coronavirus infection. More than 35 media personnel from electronic and print media turned up to give their samples for test. The results will be conveyed to them later.

It was mandatory for everyone to arrive wearing masks. They also used sanitizers to clean hands and maintained social distancing while waiting for their turn to get the tests done.

On July 22, the BMC had conducted rapid antigen test on 55 journalists working in Bhubaneswar. All of them had tested negative for COVID-19.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had conducted the first serial sero-survey in Bhubaneswar on July 11. The exercise is being undertaken to ascertain whether there is any community transmission of COVID-19 in the city and the extent of the spread of the virus.

A sero-survey involves testing of blood serum of individuals to check the prevalence of antibodies against infection. The test finds whether a person has already been infected by the COVID-19 or not.

The blood samples are collected after taking written consent of the individuals and tested for IgG antibodies and infection using COVID KAVACH ELISA approved by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).

Since SARS-CoV-2 is still being researched and understood, these tests would help understand the progression of the disease.