New Delhi: The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has reiterated that there is no increase in disease severity or hospitalisation due to Covid-19 in India. The consortium, however, said that several Omicron sub-lineage, including XBB, BA.2.75, and BA.2.10, continued to be the most circulating variants.
"Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variants in India. Among the samples collected till the end of December 2022, XBB, BA.2.75, and BA.2.10 continued to be the most circulating Omicron sub-lineage. Presence of BQ.1 sub-lineage has been seen in eastern, southern, western, and northern parts of India," the INSACOG said in its latest bulletin. It said that overall, XBB is the most prevalent sub-lineage of the Omicron variant.
"Some occurrence of BF.7 sub-lineage has also been seen in the eastern and northern parts of India over the last week. No increase in disease severity or hospitalisation has been observed during this period," the INSACOG said. Referring to the global trend of the Covid-19 situation, the INSACOG said that more than three million new cases and 10,000 deaths have been reported in the last week of December.
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"This represents a reduction in weekly cases and deaths of 22 per cent and 12 per cent. During last week, BA.5 and its descendent lineages were still dominant globally accounting for 63.7 per cent of sequences submitted to the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) even though their prevalence is decreasing," the INSACOG said. The prevalence of BA.2 and its descendent lineages is rising, mainly due to BA.2.75, together they account for 15.2 percent of sequences submitted, the INSACOG said.
