Updated: November 29, 2020 10:24:09 pm
Tests underway outside Thane train station on Saturday. (Photo: Deepak Joshi)
In one of the highest seroprevalence rates reported in the country, 605 of 806 patients who underwent antibody tests in five Cuffe Parade slums tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.
The Eyebetes Foundation, Dr. Nishant Kumar and BJP corporate Harshita Narwekar organized the seroprevalence survey for all residents of the district’s slums.
Conducted between October 5 and 10 in five locations in the room, the tests showed that 75% of the population tested positive for Covid antibodies, much higher than the seroprevalence results of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) of the 45% in marginal neighborhoods and 18% in buildings. .
A statement from Eyebetes said that the slums they covered in the sero survey were not covered by the BMC study.
The report added that only eight of the 806 patients who were tested (one percent) reported having tested positive in the past.
“This means that 99% of our cohort had an asymptomatic infection or that people are not willing to share information about previous coronaviru infections. A total of 31 people, four percent, did not want to answer a question about whether they had coronavirus in the past, which points to the stigma associated with the virus, ”the statement read.
The study further indicated that 78% of the population aged 18 to 40, 74% of those aged 40 to 60, and 76% of those over 60 tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies.
Among those evaluated in the survey, seroprevention among women was 79.3%, compared with 70.8% among men.
“In most cases, men have a higher seroprevalence rate. In our study, the higher rate for women could suggest that after the closure, many more women may be congregating in the slums, leading to an increase in infection, “the report added.
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