New Covid Variant XBB.1 Cases In India: The cases of Kovid have started increasing again in India. Experts are of the opinion that the XBB.1.16 variant of the fast-spreading XBB.1 lineage could be behind the recent spurt in Covid cases in the country. According to TOI, international and Indian scientists tracking the SARS-CoV2 variant gave this information on Tuesday (March 14).
According to an international platform for tracking Covid variants, the highest number of sequences for this sublineage came from India (48), followed by Brunei (22), the United States (15) and Singapore (14). is the number. According to reports, this sub-variant is growing on a large scale in at least four countries including India. Experts tracking the Kovid variant around the world have found that XBB.1.16 is spreading rapidly in some areas.
Cases increased in Maharashtra and Gujarat
According to a top expert at the Genome Sequence Network of India, “XBB. 1.16 is spreading rapidly. This XBB.1.16 variant is not a descendant of XBB.1.5, but both are descended from the recombinant ancestor XBB and more recently XBB.1. XBB is currently dominating in India is, and the new spike in Covid cases in the country may be the result of XBB.1.16 and maybe XBB.1.5, but the picture will be clear after seeing some more samples.”
He further said, “Most of the XBB.1.16 variants have been found in Indian travelers coming from Singapore, USA and Brunei recently. Therefore, this sub variant may increase the cases in India. It is also possible The XBB.1.16 variant may eventually dominate all other SARS-CoV-2 circulating variants, the expert said.
CovSPECTRUM, a platform that has access to GISAID data and helps scientists identify variants of SARS-CoV-2, currently has 48 sequenced samples of this sublineage in India. 39 sequenced samples of this sublineage are from Maharashtra, eight from Gujarat and one from UP.
XBB.1.16 is cause for concern
“The previous XBB.1 lineage, XBB.1.5, had become dominant worldwide, but not in India,” Dr Vipin M Vashisht, a member of WHO’s Vaccine Safety Net, who has been tracking new Covid variants during the pandemic, told TOI. . But there is some concern about XBB.1.16 globally because it has some mutations in the non-spike region of the virus: two ORF9b mutations. ORF9b has been shown to efficiently circumvent the immune system.”
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Sanjay Pujari, member of India’s National COVID-19 Task Force, said, “The XBB.1.16 variant has a higher immunosuppressive properties and less severe disease-causing potential than other Omicron sub-lineages.” Further information on the capacity of the is not yet available.”
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