The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded an alarm as Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 continues to increase across the globe. It has now been identified in more than 25 countries, the global health agency said. Omicron has been by far the most contagious variant of COVID-19 so far.
In India, the number of COVID-19's XBB.1.5 variant rose to seven in India as new cases of the variant were found in Chhattisgarh and Telangana, according to INSACOG figures. Three were found in Gujarat and one each in Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, as per the INSACOG.
WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the global health body is following the situation closely and assessing the risk of this subvariant and will report accordingly. "Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, is on the increase and has now been identified in more than 25 countries.@WHO is following closely and assessing the risk of this subvariant and will report accordingly," a tweet read.
The Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, is causing concern among scientists after its rapid spread in the United States in December. XBB.1.5 is yet another descendant of Omicron, the most contagious variant of the virus causing Covid-19, which is now globally dominant.
XBB.1.5 is a subvariant of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 that has dominated in most parts of the world since it was first identified in December 2021, and which followed the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants of concern.
So far the symptoms of XBB.1.5 seem to be more cold-like than flu-like, especially in people who have been vaccinated or have had COVID-19 before, but it is too soon to say this definitively.
Although we are likely to see further waves of infection around the world, “that doesn't have to translate into further waves of death because our countermeasures [such as vaccines] continue to work."
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, XBB.1.5 currently makes up 40.5% of all COVID-19 cases in the US, and it has spread fast – in late September when it was first identified in the US it made up 0.1% of all cases in the country.