New more virulent strain of Covid behind US infections surfaces in India too

A new and more virulent sub-variant of Omicron, XBB.1.5, that has triggered a surge in Covid cases in the US has now been detected in India as well.

Insacog data shows that the first case of XBB 1.5 infection has been confirmed in Gujarat, a state that has a large diaspora settled in the USA.

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated last week that the XBB1.5 subvariant has grown to account for nearly a fifth of cases in the country, up from only 3 percent of cases a month earlier.

According to Yunlong Cao, biochemist at Peking University, while XBB.1.5 is not more immune evasive than XBB it does have a higher level of transmissibility. “XBB.1.5 appears faster and more sustained than any of the variants since Omicron’s first wave last January,” scientist JP Weiland said.

The original BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron had muted into the XBB strain. But according to US scientist Eric Topol, its descendant, XBB.1.5, is thought to have a tighter bind to the ACE2 receptor, which would account for its increased level of transmissibility.

India first started carrying out random Covid tests of all passengers arriving on foreign flights in order to check spread of the disease.

Now Covid tests have been made mandatory for passengers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand from January 1, 2023. They will have to upload their reports on the Air Suvidha portal before travel, the health minister said.

While India is on high alert, the situation is not alarming as nearly 90 percent of adults in the country have received two doses of a vaccine, with 30 percent also receiving booster doses.

The latest Covid wave has been triggered by China again. The fact that Beijing has clamped down on all information about coronavirus infections sweeping across the Communist nation   has made it even more difficult for the other countries to control its spread. The WHO has also asked China to more transparent about its Covid wave which has seen the healthcare system being overwhelmed in the country. There is also a shortage of medicines due to the large number of infections.