In an interim sero survey report, 69 per cent children in Chandigarh tested positive for antibodies, the PGI Hospital said on Tuesday.
The PGI is conducting a COVID-19 sero survey in children aged six to 18 years and the study is funded by the UT administration.
PGI director Jagat Ram said the survey, which began on June 24, is progressing at a good pace.
He said the survey is of utmost importance among the pediatric population as there is news that the third wave may affect children.
So far, blood samples of 756 children were collected for the sero survey, of which 519 tested positive for IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, which means that around 69 per cent of the children have been previously infected. Were.
Dr. Mini P. Singh said that the testing is being done using a high throughput CLIA machine available in the Department of Virology so that the report can be made available in less time.
PVM Lakshmi, who is coordinating the field activity of the survey, said that the serosurvey teams have been divided into four groups, each consisting of a field investigator and a laboratory technician, who have worked in different areas, villages and slums. Home tours in
Of all the children enrolled till July 4, 396 samples were collected from households in Sectors 22, 24, 36, 56 and 11, with 65 per cent samples being positive (257 out of 396 positive) and 360 samples collected from households. In Burail, Maloya, Dhanas, Atawa and Khajeri villages, 73 per cent (262 out of 360) showed positivity.
These are interim results and the study aims to collect around 2,700 samples in total which will provide a clear picture of the actual percentage of children infected during the first and second wave in Chandigarh.
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