India battles fresh COVID surge with THIS new variant on the rise

According to scientists, the recent surge in coronavirus cases in India may be attributed to a newly identified version of the Covid-19 XBB variant called XBB1.16. This highly contagious variant has been found in several countries such as China, Singapore, and the United States.

𝗫𝗕𝗕 𝟭.𝟭𝟲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗫𝗕𝗕 𝟭.𝟭𝟱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗫𝗕𝗕 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁

CovSPECTRUM reports that the XBB 1.16 variant did not originate from the XBB 1.15 variant. Instead, both XBB 1.16 and XBB 1.15 are descendants of the recombinant ancestor XBB variant.

The highest number of XBB 1.16 variant cases have been reported in India, with the current count standing at 48, according to a report by The Times of India citing an international platform that tracks Covid variants. Singapore and the US have reported 14 and 15 cases respectively.

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁

A top genome expert said: “Three India states--Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra--are having a high prevalence of XBB 1.16 Covid variant."

Dr. Vipin M Vashishtha, a member of the Vaccine Safety Net under WHO, who has been monitoring the emergence of new Covid variants, informed The Times of India that the XBB.1.5 variant, which was a predecessor of XBB.1, has become the dominant strain worldwide, except in India.

“There is some worry about XBB.1.16 globally because it has certain mutations in the non-spike region of the virus: two ORF9b mutations. ORF9b has been implicated in efficient immune evasion," he was quoted as saying by ToI.

𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱-𝟭𝟵 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮

According to a statement by the Union Health Ministry on Thursday, India's active Covid-19 caseload has risen to 4,623 with 734 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, marking the first increase in over four months. The total number of Covid cases reported in the country now stands at 4.46 crore (4,46,92,710).

On a previous Saturday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan sent a letter to the States and Union Territories, highlighting the worrisome issue of gradually increasing Covid-19 test positivity rates in some areas that require urgent attention.

Bhushan, in his letter, said: "Despite the low number of new cases, equally low number of hospitalizations and significant advances made in terms of Covid-19 vaccination coverage, there is still a need to remain vigilant and focus on the five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behavior."