Coronavirus | Track virus exposure, ICMR advises States

ICMR suggests sero-survey with indigenous kit to decide future course of action.

A blood sample ready to be posted back to the Lab is pictured in a micro sampling collection tube, as a man uses an IgG Antibody Test Kit which identifies Immunoglobulin G antibodies related to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in London on May 28, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. - This type of test confirms if you have previously had the coronavirus as Financial Times research published Thursday, May 28 that Britain has suffered the highest death rate from the coronavirus among the most-affected countries with comparable tracking data. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday advised the States to conduct sero-surveys to measure the coronavirus exposure in the population using IgG ELISA Test.

As per the direction of the council, the coronavirus(COVID-19 ) exposure in the general population as well as in high-risk populations would be measured and the outcome will help “decide the future course of action against the pandemic”.

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“The numbers and frequency in different groups to be tested has been entrusted with the States depending upon the requirement and situation in that particular area,” the note said.

The sero-survey would be conducted using an IgG ELISA kit. Scientists at the ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune, have developed and validated an indigenous IgG ELISA test for antibody detection for SARS-CoV-2 .

The test has undergone intense validation in three stages and has been found to have high sensitivity and specificity.

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The ICMR said that it had offered to provide technical support to the States/ Union Territories, if required, in planning and carrying out sero-surveys using IgG Elisa test kits and also interpreting the results.