RGUHS to study spread of infection in slums

RGUHS to study spread of infection in slums

Sunitha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:  15,04,2021

A team of community medicine researchers from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) will conduct a study in 24 slums in Bengaluru to analyse exposure to Covid-19 in the crowded habitations.

A dozen medical colleges have been assigned two slums each and they will conduct Covid-19 antibody tests on slum dwellers.

During a meeting last month between the chief minister, technical advisory committee members and heads of departments including police, Praveen Sood, Karnataka DG&IGP, had asked why cluster outbreaks were being reported from apartment complexes but not from slums.

TAC members discussed the matter further and Dr MK Sudarshan, chairperson, asked the government to conduct a serosurvey in slums.

“This will help us understand precisely what is happening in slums,” said Dr Sudarshan.

Dr Ranganath TS, HOD, department of community medicine, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute and principal investigator of the project, said, “A huge majority of cases are largely of people from middle to upper sections of society, especially those living in apartments. People in slums, who could be going out every day for work, are not coming for Covid tests or seeking treatment. We need to find out if they are falling ill, where they are going and what sort of treatment they are receiving if so.”

Medical colleges will cover select slums nearby, said Dr Ranganath. The survey is likely to begin in two days. Dr Riyaz Basha, another principal investigator of the project and head of community medicine, Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College Hospital, said they will conduct both RT-PCR test and antibody tests on 720 people in 24 slums.

“All medical colleges work closely with urban primary health centres,” said Dr Basha. “Medicos who are working in these UPHCs will conduct the research in slums. From each slum, we plan to include at least 30 people in the study. The cohort will be those aged above 18 years of age.”

Dr Basha said they will also collect details such as vaccination status, previous exposure to the disease, infections among immediate neighbours and facilities they have for home isolation.

“This survey will help us understand at least two aspects. The first is if the people surveyed are Covid positive, they will be immediately isolated and their primary and secondary contacts will be traced. If they have already developed antibodies, then it means that they had prior exposure to the virus. In such cases, we must educate them about the Covid-19 vaccine and ensure that all those in slums who are eligible get vaccinated,” said Dr Basha.

In case they test negative for both RT-PCR and antibodies, questions will arise on how safe they are living in crowded localities and if it has anything to do with their immunity levels, researchers said. The survey also aims at improving vaccination status among the slum-dwellers.

During a Covid-19 meeting last month Praveen Sood, Karnataka DG&IGP, had asked why cluster outbreaks were being reported from apartment complexes but not from slums