(Dan Tri) – In some of the largest slums in the city of Mumbai, India, 6 out of 10 people have antibodies to the virus that causes Covid-19, a survey shows.
An Indian woman donated serum after recovering from Covid-19.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), a sero survey by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and local governments, found that about 6 out of 10 people live in some of the largest slums in Mumbai.
The above survey was conducted in July with nearly 7,000 people in 3 suburbs of Mumbai.
The survey results can explain the sharp decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases in crowded slums in India even as the number of people infected with Covid-19 across India increased rapidly.
Jayaprakash Muliyil, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of India’s National Institute of Epidemiology, said: `Mumbai’s slums have achieved herd immunity.
Despite efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19, Mumbai’s poorest communities may have pursued a controversial strategy of herd immunity, the survey found.
The herd immunity strategy has been criticized in places like Sweden, where it has been blamed for causing more deaths in Sweden from Covid-19 than in neighboring countries pursuing lockdowns.
In the crowded slums of Mumbai, social distancing is almost impossible, so Covid-19 spreads easily.
Dharavi, the largest slum in India, is home to about 1 million people, a population density of more than 277,000 people/km2 and about 80 people sharing a public toilet.
`One explanation is that they did a good job of preventing the epidemic, another explanation is that they reached herd immunity,` Mr. Muliyil said.
India is currently the third country most heavily affected by the Covid-19 epidemic with nearly 1.6 million cases, of which more than 35,000 deaths.
