New Delhi: The XBB Omicron subvariant accounted for most of the confirmed international travelers in the country. BQ subvariant is also confirmed. Samples of all 124 positive cases were sent for genetic sequencing. The results of 40 of these have now been received.
According to the information provided by the Union Health Ministry, the XBB subvariant was confirmed in 14 out of 40 samples. The results of the samples were BQ (nine), CH (three), BA.5.2 (two), BN (two), BF.7.4.1, BB.3, BY.1, and BF.5 (one).
According to a report by the World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution, the outbreak in China was caused by the BA.5.2 and BF.7 variants. BA.5.2 is confirmed in India.
According to INSACOG, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing consortium, 1.2 percent of the samples tested in December 2022 had the presence of the BF.7 variant.
According to data from INSACOG, the XBB variant is a recombination of the omicron subvariants BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75. This subvariant is the most prevalent in India. The variant was confirmed in 40.3 percent of the samples tested in December. The XBB variant is also spreading in America.
The presence of the BQ variant is also increasing in India. The number of samples that confirmed the BQ variant was 3.6 percent in November but rose to 14.6 percent by December.
In the new covid situation, tests have been tightened in the country. So far, 19,227 international travelers have been tested and 124 have been diagnosed with the disease. The RTPCR negative certificate has also been made mandatory for those arriving from countries like China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand.
