Coronavirus latest: Now a sero survey to be conducted on defence personnel in Pune

Coronavirus latest update: In Pune, a sero survey will be conducted among defence personnel. Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) researchers are collecting blood samples from the armed forces population. Researchers will also study whether they have tested positive for antibodies against Coronavirus. AFMC’s Departments of Microbiology, internal medicine, and community medicine have started the process to detect circulating IgG antibodies in the armed forces population residing in the city, as per The Indian Express report.

The duration of this sero survey on defence personnel is three months and a total of 500 personnel will be monitored. So far, over 400 subjects have been recruited to date. The results of this special sero survey will be revealed once the study is completed. Participants in this sero survey belong to the age group between 20 and 55 years. The study will include serving personnel returning from leave or temp duty or courses or on permanent posting to AFMC, as per The Indian Express report.

The department of microbiology, AFMC, has so far conducted more than 19,200 tests after the start of the pandemic. They have tested armed forces personnel and their dependents, State Reserve Police Force, and samples of civilians from Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar, and Satara districts. A total of 6,160 samples have been collected for testing from Pune. Out of the total, 995 have tested coronavirus positive for the novel coronavirus, the IE report says.

The AFMC has also undertaken genomic studies to comprehend the evolution and epidemiology of the SARS-CoV-2. The study was conducted in collaboration with the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS). Whole-genome sequencing of 90 Covid-19 samples from western India was performed. During the study, the sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from Pune, Satara, and Nashik formed four clusters. Out of the clusters, the cluster 1 was found closest to the Wuhan strain, as per the IE report.

Pune has already witnessed a sero survey. The sero survey had revealed that 51.5 per cent of the people surveyed have developed antibodies against Coronavirus, The Indian Express report says.