Daily Current Affairs for UPSC, IAS, UPPSC/UPPCS, BPSC, MPPSC, RPSC and All State PCS Examinations

Delhiites Exposed To COVID: Sero Survey

IN NEWS

• The prevalence of Covid-19 infection is several times higher than detected, according to the results of a sero-surveillance survey released by the government.

ABOUT SERO SURVEY

• Serology is the scientific study of serum and other body fluids.
• Serosurvey: Collection and testing of serum (or proxy such as oral fluid) specimens from a sample of a defined population over a specified period of time to estimate the prevalence of antibodies against a given specific infectious pathogen as an indicator of immunity.
• A well designed serosurvey using sufficiently sensitive and specific assays can provide information on the proportion of population which has seroprotection(Detection of antibody above a postulated immune-protective threshold) and the proportion which is susceptible (nonimmune).

OUTCOME OF SURVEY

• The survey carried out by the National Centre for Disease Control and Delhi government from the last week of June to the first week of July showed that almost one in four persons living in Delhi has antibodies against the virus.
• Covering 21,387 persons across 11 districts, the survey revealed that 23.48 per cent of the samples had past infections from which the patients recovered.
• This means that 77 per cent of the population, including elderly and those with co-morbidities, are vulnerable to catching the virus.
• The study also indicates that a large number of infected persons remain asymptomatic.

DISADVANTAGES OF SEROSURVEYS

• The main limitations to conducting serosurveys include the high financial cost, substantial staff and resource commitment, and logistical challenges.
• It can be difficult to obtain high community participation in serosurveys, and if many people refuse to provide a specimen, the survey results may not represent the population seroprevalence
• There are also many challenges with interpreting survey results.

Plasma Therapy Effective - ICMR

IN NEWS

• Most institutions which took part in the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) trial on plasma therapy have concluded that blood transfusion from recovered Covid-19 patients to those with moderately severe illness to be effective.

ICMR

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world.
• The ICMR is funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• In 1911, the Government of India set up the Indian Research Fund Association (IRFA) with the specific objective of sponsoring and coordinating medical research in the country. It was designated as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 1949.

PLASMA THERAPY

• In the search for an effective treatment for COVID-19, an old method of fighting infectious diseases has recently resurfaced: transfusions with convalescent plasma. Plasma is a component of blood.
• This method has a simple premise. The blood of people who have recovered from an infection contains antibodies. Antibodies are molecules that have learned to recognize and fight the pathogens, such as viruses, that have caused disease.
• Doctors can separate plasma, one of the blood components that contain such antibodies, and administer it to people whose bodies are currently fighting an infectious disease. This can help their immune systems reject the pathogen more efficiently.
• This is a concerted initiative — called the “National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project” — born after the publication of a viewpoint paper in The Journal of Clinical Investigation in March, 2020.

Bharat Drones

Why in NEWS ?

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has provided drones named ‘Bharat’ to Indian Army.

About

• DRDO provides ‘Bharat drones’ to Indian Army for accurate surveillance at India-China border.
• The indigenously developed drones are sent in order to provide an accurate surveillance along the Line of Actual Control in high altitude and mountainous terrains of Eastern Ladakh.

About Bharat Drones

• DRDO has developed Bharat Drones- a series of drones that comes under one of the world’s most lightest and agile drone surveillance systems.
• It is made indigenously as it has been designed entirely by DRDO's Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL).
• These drones are small but are powerful to work autonomously with great accuracy at any location.
• The combination of unibody biomimetic design as well as advanced release technology is known for potent surveillance missions.
• Bharat drones are equipped with artificial intelligence which helps the drone to detect friends from foes and helps take any action accordingly.
• It has been made in a way that ensures its survival in extreme cold weather temperatures and harsher weather.
• It can also provide a real-time video transmission during the missions and have advanced night vision capabilities.
• It can also detect humans who are hidden in deep forests.
• It is built in a way that Radars cannot detect its presence and thus can be used in swarm operations.
• It also has the potential for being used by the Central Armed Police Forces and law enforcement agencies.

Smog Tower

Why in NEWS ?

• Supreme Court on 21.07.2020 gave the Centre seven days to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai) to install a smog tower in Delhi to help fight air pollution.

About

• A Special Bench took a stern view against the Centre when it realised that its order of January 13 to install an experimental smog tower at the busy Anand Vihar intersection in the National Capital had not been complied with even after seven months.

About Smog Tower

• It is a large vertical structure designed as large-scale air purifier to reduce air pollution particles
• It is fitted with exhaust fans to suck in polluted air with the help of a big inlet point.
• The 20-metre (65 feet) high tower will trap particulate matter of all sizes suspended in the air.
• The filters installed in the tower will use carbon Nano fibres as a major component and will be fitted along its peripheries.
• A machine fitted inside the tower removes nearly 80% of the particulate matter i.e. PM 2.5 and PM 10, helping to bring down pollution levels and spews fresh air out through four outlet units.
• Expected to purify around 2,50,000 to 6,00000 cubic meter air per day and release fresh air in return.
• The smog tower shot to fame as an air purifying tower, the size of a small skyscraper, built in China's Xi'an city.
• It is considered as a technological route to clean air off the pollutants, having an impact on large area.
• Lately, this technology has come under scepticism, as there isn't ample hard data to support the claim.