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.
๐ซ๐๐ ๐ญ.๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ญ.๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐
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.
๐ง๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐
A top genome expert said: โThree 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.
โThere 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.
๐๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ-๐ญ๐ต ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ
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."
