Coimbatore: The term Serological surveillance is gaining momentum recently, after the ICMR which conducted a large-scale seroprevalence study in India, revealed that several crores of Indians already have had Covid-19 infection.
Coimbatore: The term Serological surveillance is gaining momentum recently, after the ICMR which conducted a large-scale seroprevalence study in India, revealed that several crores of Indians already have had Covid-19 infection.
Verifying their finding is the serological study conducted by Thyrocare and other private labs. Serological survey measures the fraction of the population that has Covid-specific antibodies in their blood.
Though the path-breaking report that crores of Indian population are already exposed to the novel Coronavirus is actually good news, but how?
A. Velumani - Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Thyrocare Technologies Ltd, has tweeted that nearly 18 crore Indians already got Antibodies and hence Covid virus is silently and free of cost immunising Indians faster than the western cousins, is news.
Here"s few pertinent questions Mr. Velumani has answered in his twitter regarding Serological survey
1. US had high DPM but low % Antibodies but in India it is reverse. How is it possible?
Though both US and India started the COVID journey together, US had low immunity and hence ended in high mortality.
India had high immunity and hence low mortality. Is that not true that Immunity is only savior for COVID?
2. Is that kits used in India are showing over estimations of positives, giving high positivity ?
All kits are US FDA approved and CE marked and ICMR approved and US also uses same kits only. Yes, kit to kit some variations are there and our 15% is an average of all 4 brands available and popular globally.
3. What must be cross reactivity with antibodies, to say both US and India both are over estimation?
Delhi has 30% but Alibaug or Jamshedpur has only 2%. If it is non specific — all over India it should be uniform false positivity.
4. Why you say, for Plasma Therapy, antibodies from recovered from hospital, may not be as good as abs from those who remained asymptomatic?
In 1965, | got immunized for something, but out of 40 of my village, 5 had severe illness, 5 moderate, 30 had no symptoms at all. That means the ones with high levels of Antibody too early combated the side effects of the vaccine better.
In 1985, when I was in BARC, we used to immunize rabbits for raising antibodies for Thyroid hormones. Next 10 days, we were observing the rabbits. Some will die due to its toxicity. Many fell sick but they recover. But only a few will be healthy and the ones who were healthy produced good quality antibody than the ones which fell sick.
5. What do you conclude based on observed high positivity of antibodies in India?
First let me hope, all observations are technically and logically right. If right, it appears that for every single death there are 10,000 getting antibody response, which is fortunately too high.
Means, virus is immunizing silently and freely. By Dec 2020 the national average will be 50% and that means virus will not have enough to trouble to a level of severe symptoms and its impact will be small, if not completely gone.
6. How long will this Antibody response there?
MMR immunization is Mumps, Measles and Rubella vaccine. We do a test called Rubella Ig G in women with problems of pregnancy. Surprisingly 90% of the tested are positive at an age of 30, while the immunization was done at first month.
Obviously, as long as the virus is there, it would keep provoking antibody response once first time the Lymphocytes are sensitized.
He also published area-wise data of 53,000 antibody testing of >200 cases reported. Of which, 15% positive for antibodies,means 18 crore Indians have already silently, immunised in India (approx 10,000 per death).
"Too good to believe. Hope, kits do not have high false positives", he tweeted.
