WHO closely tracking covid variant triggering spike in India cases

New Delhi: The World Health Organization is keeping a close eye on covid subvariant XBB.1.16, which is driving a spike in coronavirus cases in India. XBB.1.16 "One to watch," said Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease specialist and WHO's COVID-19 technical lead. One of the big uncertainties going forward is the virus hasn't settled into a predictable pattern—it continues to evolve, she said.

Currently, WHO is closely tracking one variant of interest (VOI), XBB.1.5, and six variants under monitoring (VUMs): BQ.1, BA.2.75, CH.1.1, XBB, XBF and XBB.1.16; XBB.1.16 was added to this list on 22 March 2023.

XBB.1.16 is a recombinant of BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 and has three additional mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (E180V, F486P and K478R) compared to its parent lineage XBB, the WHO said.

As of 27 March, the WHO said, XBB.1.16 sequences have been reported from 21 countries. "However, so far reports do not indicate a rise in hospitalizations, ICU admissions, or deaths due to XBB.1.16. Further, there are currently no reported laboratory studies on markers of disease severity for XBB.1.16," the World Health Organization said.

India is witnessing an uptick in COVID-19 cases across the country. 2,994 new COVID-19 infections were reported in past 24 hours, while the number of active cases increased to 16,354, according to Union health ministry data. Two deaths each were reported from Delhi, Karnataka and Punjab, one from Gujarat, and two were reconciled by Kerala.

Delhi's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that right now the most predominant variant that is found is XBB1.16. "In 48 per cent of cases this variant is found and in almost all other cases the sub-variant of this variant is found. This variant has three qualities it spreads very fast but it is not severe," the chief minister said.

Amid the recent spike in COVID cases across the country, Dr Arvind Kumar, chairman of the Institute of Chest Surgery, Medanta Hospital, has advised people to wear masks and get a COVID test done in case of symptoms.

In a report released this week, WHO said, globally, nearly 3.6 million new cases and over 25 000 deaths were reported in the last 28 days (27 February to 26 March 2023), a decrease of 27% and 39%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days. But despite this overall downward trend, it is important to note that several countries have recently reported significant increases in cases, it noted.

The highest numbers of new cases from the South-East Asia Region during the period were reported from India (18 130 new cases), WHO said.