Mumbai: Sero survey shows nearly 90 percent of the population have anticuerpos Covid-19

Almost 90% of the Maharashtra residents in the Capital of Mumbai, according to the 5th Sero survey carried out by Municipal Body, are estimated to have Covid-19 antigbodies.

Data released by the Municipal Corporation of Brihanmumbai (BMC) on Friday revealed more antibodies among women (88.29 percent) than among men (85.07 percent ).

Between August and early September, 8.774 adults, of which nearly 65 percent were vaccinated, were included in the fifth blood serum survey.

The result showed that the sero-prevalence of people who were vaccinated against Covid in full or in part was significantly higher than those without Covid.

The continuous Covid-19 vaccination scheme must be strengthened, as “the sero-prevalence among those vaccinated is far higher than the unvaccinated counterparts,” said the report.

India’s crowded financial hub Mumbai won plaudits this year for tackling the second wave of the pandemic better than any other metropolis in the country.

The report finding comes at a time when concerns around the emergence of a third wave remain.

Prevalence of Delta variant 

No Delta plus variant of Covid-19, considered highly contagious, was found among 376 samples tested in the second round of genome sequencing in Mumbai, reported news agency PTI on Thursday.

Additional municipal commissioner (western suburbs) Suresh Kakani said the samples were examined at a genome sequencing facility inaugurated in the city last month.

In a statement issued by the BMC, Kakani said: “The genome sequencing facility at civic-run Kasturba Hospital has tested 376 samples so far (in second round). Not a single sample was found with the Delta plus variant of Covid-19.”

“However, 304 samples had the Delta variant, while two samples had 19A lineage and four 20A lineage. The other 66 samples have prevalence of earlier strain of COVID-19. The Delta plus variant, which is known for its higher transmissibility, was not found in these samples,” he said.

Covid situation in state 

Maharashtra on Thursday reported 3,595 new coronavirus infections and 45 fatalities, taking its infection tally to 65,11,525 and death toll to 1,38,322, a health department official said.

As many as 3,240 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the count of recovered cases to 63,20,310. There are 49,342 active cases in the state.

There are 2,89,425 people in home quarantine and 1,908 in institutional quarantine. Maharashtra’s Covid-19 recovery rate stands at 97.06%, while the fatality rate is 2.12%.

Mumbai city reported 446 new cases and two deaths, taking the total of infections in the city to 7,36,728 and death toll to 16,039