SERO SURVEY
- November 16, 2020
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
Subject : Science & tech
Context : Sero prevalence studies, which test for antibodies, tend to throw up higher numbers than PCR tests, and these numbers sometimes vary in different rounds in the same population.
Concept :
- Sero prevalence studies (or sero surveys) estimate the share of the population that test positive for antibodies using serology tests.
- The presence of a specific antibody in a sufficiently high concentration will suggest that the tested person was previously infected.
- Typically, such studies test individuals who are selected at random using sampling techniques that will allow scaling the results to the general population.
Reasons for Difference :
- The difference between nationally reported numbers and those from serosurveys comes, at least in part, from the fact that most Covid-19 cases in India have been asymptomatic.
- There is also some fear of stigma and threat of quarantine. As a result, not everyone with symptoms gets tested and the number of cases found positive from testing current cases with RT-PCR remains a lot smaller than that from sero prevalence studies.
Additional Facts :
- Around 25,000 Ethiopians fleeing conflict in the Tigray region have crossed into neighbouring Sudan, state news agency SUNA reported, as the UN said it was working to find them shelter.
- The United Arab Emirates will extend its “golden” visa system — which grants 10-year residency in the West Asian nation — to certain professionals, specialised degree-holders and others, the UAE’s Vice-President said .
- Leader of the Opposition said Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) had overstepped its constitutional bounds by issuing sovereign bonds to borrow from the foreign market as pointed out by CAG.