Slums as survey shows dip in seropositivity

Mumbai: A recent zero survey by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) found that antibodies previously detected in slums were down 12 per cent.  City officials said they had begun monitoring the slums closely.  Ward officials were instructed to increase inspections in slum pockets in the city. On April 24, BMC presented a zero survey report that found 41 percent seropositivity in blood samples taken from municipal dispensaries in slum areas. 

BMC noted that the first survey conducted in July 2020 found 57 per cent seropositivity in slum samples and the second survey found 45 per cent zero positivity in slums. Currently, more than 90 per cent of cases in Mumbai are reported from high-rise and residential buildings.  The rest of the cases are from slum areas. 

However, senior BMC officials said that despite the high number of reported cases, they are also closely monitoring the slums. However, with the relaxation of post-monsoon lockdown norms, more and more cases are starting to come out of the highs,”said a senior civil servant. According to the latest data available on the BMC dashboard, there are only 115 slum areas across Mumbai, marked as active container zones, with a total of 1,101 sealed buildings and 10,686 sealed floors in Mumbai.

A report published last week found that the zero positivity of samples collected from non-slum areas also increased by 10 percent over the past eight months.  “Slum infection rates have dropped.  As a result, livestock immunity among slum dwellers is declining and the number of people living in slums is increasing,”officials said. She also said that inspections in slums have been increased due to the second wave and heavy cases.  

BMC is conducting door-to-door inspections using mobile vans in densely populated slum areas of Dharavi, Antope Hill and Koliwada. The Civil Body aims to conduct 40,000 tests per day, which we adhere to, and our staff are conducting inspections at slums and high altitudes.