THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala will hold a seroprevalence study to estimate the population level immunity - level of herd immunity induced by both natural factors and vaccines. The population behaviour, mobility and other factors are changing with the various stages of easing of restrictions. It is in this backdrop that the state has decided to hold a study to get insights into the dynamics of the pandemic and suggest various strategies for prevention and control of the disease.
The primary objective of the study is to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS CoV-2 IgG antibodies among above 18-year-old population, antenatal women attending antenatal care clinics, children aged 5 to 17 years, tribal population aged above 18 years in rural parts of districts, people above 18 years in coastal areas, and people above 18 years in slum areas in corporations in the state.
The secondary objective of the study is to ascertain the determinants of seropositivity among various target populations apart from studying the seropositivity among categories of vaccination status in the study populations. Further, the case to infection ratio and infection fatality ratio in the general population will also be estimated as part of the study.
This is first time the state is getting ready to hold a seroprevalence study while the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had earlier conducted studies and found that 42.7 per cent of people have immunity and a large number of the population are still susceptible. The survey was based on the samples collected from just 1,308 people from three districts - Ernakulam, Palakkad and Thrissur.